It's A Long Shot, But I Say Why Not?
by ytilaturb
Summary: A drabble of shots; long shots, short shots, some funny, a little bit of horror, love, and sometimes, the Venturi's and the McDonald's never blended. Just a little fun. And does anyone still ship these two? Dasey and other pairings.
1. You Wish

**YOU WISH**

 **Location & Time: Thompson High, Grade 12**

It must have been a bad week or something because everything that the other one said, it started an argument. Arguments so bad it took Sam and Ralph to hold Casey back otherwise Derek would have gotten a black eye.

After all the arguing that day, Derek was just looking forward to going to the Fall Festival without any issues. Well... that was short lived.

"This set up takes up like three blocks, how are you right here, right now," Derek asked.

"I can say the same thing about you," Casey snapped.

"Seriously, why the hell are you here?" Derek asked, raising his voice. "Don't you have someone else to annoy?"

"I annoy you?" She repeated. "You're kidding me,"

"No, I'm not, so why don't you just go and disappear," he said. "Do all of us a damn favor,"

He walked past her, cutting between her and Emily and roughly knocking her in the shoulder.

"Derek," Sam called out and he ignored him. He sighed. "He didn't mean it Casey,"

And all she did was walk away with Emily following behind her calling for her to wait. Sam caught up with Derek and walked the same pace with him.

"That was kinda mean," he said.

"You don't have to live with her everyday, and everyday that damn girl either bitching about something or crying about something," Derek said. "She never shuts up,"

"What the hell has the two of you so heated anyways?"

"I don't wanna have to rewind the video because this nightmare is still playing," Derek said. "God, I just wish that she wasn't here,"

Sam just looked at him.

"I mean, yeah, she can live here, hell she can go to the same school as me, I just wish she wasn't living in my house,"

They ended up at a long row of old arcade games. Most of them worked while some of them were so old they didn't, but they were all still really cool to look at. After about an hour, Derek decided to go home. He waited for Casey for about another hour and she never showed up so he left. But twenty minutes later, she came in livid. She stormed into his room and he was at his computer.

"You left me?" She asked him.

"I texted you and I waited for you, not my fault you didn't show up," he smirked.

"I can't believe you, you are such a jerk!"

She stormed out of his room and into her and he followed her.

"You know, you really need to come up with another insult, Princess," he sneered.

And she slapped him, hard. So hard the sound got the attention of his parents.

"What on earth?" Nora asked.

Derek saw red. He slowly looked at Casey with what he had hoped was the meanest glare ever. He walked past her and downstairs. He didn't say anything to anyone. Just slammed the door as he left.

He walked. He didn't plan on it but he ended up at the Fall Festival again. They weren't going to close down for another house so he decided to do another walk through. He made his way back to where the arcade games were and noticed a fortune teller make a wish type game. He didn't recall seeing it there before and he and his friends looked at every arcade game in the line. There was a large figure in the center. It looked like Charlie Chaplin but with a thin mustache and a go-t. It had a turbine thing on it's head and he looked pissed. There was a ramp sliding back and forth in front of it and the figure kept opening and closing the mouth.

He put his quarter in and ended up getting it into the mouth right before it closed. Red lettering lit up.

 _'Make a wish...'_

He stood there for a moment and was about to walk away but stopped.

"She can live here," Derek said, "she can still go to the same school as me,"

He paused.

"I wish Casey didn't live in the same house as me,"

The lettering turned off and he heard a whirling sound. He looked at the machine and saw a card slide out from where he thought a bill was supposed to go. He pulled the card out. One side had a design on it and the other side had a message printed in fancy font.

 _'Your wish is my command...'_

And then the lights all turned off in the game. He looked around and backed up from the game slowly. He decided it was time for him to walk back home before his dad had a fit. When he got home, his dad, Nora and Casey were all in the living room.

"Oh, good, you're home," his dad said. "Are you cooled off?"

"Sure?"

"Derek, you're grounded for a week for leaving without your phone and Casey is grounded for a month for hitting you," George said.

"And Casey has something that she would like to say," Nora said to him. "Casey?"

"Derek, I-"

"I don't really care," he cut her off. "I don't wanna hear you, I don't wanna see you, I don't want anything to do with you,"

He walked up to his room ignoring calls for him to come back downstairs. He dropped on his bed and sighed. Sure he was being mean to her, but she wasn't the nicest person to him that day. And he did wait for her, and it wasn't really his fault she didn't show up after an hour of waiting for her. And sure he didn't have to leave her. Maybe he shouldn't have followed her into her room and just let the argument die. But she didn't have to hit him. He had never put his hands on her or any female for that matter.

It seemed like grade twelve was the worst and it just started not too long ago. They were constantly fighting. She always had a problem if he talked to another girl, but he had a problem with every guy she went out on a date with. He didn't understand why there was so much hostility between them that year. He knew that he had had enough and she had had enough too. Hell, it was getting to the point to where they couldn't even pass each other in the halls without them trying to argue about something.

He just didn't understand why.

He finally fell asleep around midnight.

He woke up late and rushed to get dressed. He only had about ten minutes before the first bell rang so he assumed that Casey was already at school since she didn't wake him up. But he really didn't expect her to wake him up. Without a good bye, he hurried out the door and to school. He barely had a few minutes to spare before the second bell went off. Thankfully his first class had text books already in the classroom. He sat down at his desk and sighed.

Emily walked in and sat in her seat in front of him.

"Hey, Emily," he said.

She turned around and looked at him.

"Um, hey?"

"How's it going?" He asked her.

"Fine," she said.

But her tone didn't sound anywhere close to fine. It actually sounded like she was confused.

"Is everything okay?" He asked her.

"Why are you talking to me?"

She turned back around in her seat before he could even answer her. And because she was kind of rude to him, he chose not to answer. He could only assume that she was taking Casey's side in all this. And he wasn't surprised. By the time it was third period, he was starting to forget about everything that happened. He spotted Casey at her locker and walked over to her. He tapped her shoulder and she turned around.

"Hi," she smiled at him.

 _Weird. Casey looks really hot today._

"Hey, um, I'm really sorry,"

"For what?"

"Last night," Derek said.

"What happened last night," Casey asked.

"Are you kidding me?" Derek asked. "It was almost war last night,"

"Derek, what are you talking about?" Casey asked.

"We were arguing all day yesterday, how could you forget," Derek asked her. "You slapped me,"

He suddenly noticed his reflection in her locker mirror and went to go inspect. The bruise that was forming on his cheek from the night before was completely gone.

 _What?_

"Derek, we weren't arguing yesterday and I certainly didn't slap you,"

Derek looked around the hall, confused and worried all at the same time.

"Did you have some sort of crazy dream last night?"

"Last night," Derek said, "what happened last night,"

"You had practice and then work. You called me at eleven and then you said you were gonna go to bed around midnight," Casey said, "why?"  
"What about the Fall Festival?"

"The Fall Festival isn't until next week,"

"Today isn't the nineteenth?" Derek asked.

"No, it's the twelfth," Casey said. "Is everything alright?"

 _How did I go backwards a week?!_

"I guess I just got mixed up," he said. "maybe it was a dream,"

 _A two and a half year dream? Are you kidding me, Venturi?_

"God, don't scare me like that," she said after she closed her locker shut. "I'll see you at lunch,"

She gave him a quick kiss and hurried off to class leaving him completely dumbfounded in the hall.

Seriously, what the hell was going on?

He walked to his next class and sat down in his seat. Sam was in that class so maybe he could finally get some answers, if Sam knew anything at all.

"Hey, is Emily pissed at me?" Derek asked.

"Emily Davis?"

"Yeah," Derek said in a duh tone.

"Why would she be mad at you?"

"I don't know, I tried to say good morning to her and she asked why I was talking to her,"

"I'd ask the same thing if you were talking to me and we weren't friends," Sam said.

 _What?_

"We're not friends with Emily?" Derek asked. "Since when?"

"Um, since always?" Sam said. "She got really jealous after you and Casey got together,"

 _Okay, what?!_

"Why are you asking, you already know all this stuff," Sam said.

Sam gave his friend a weird look and class started.

When lunch time came around, Derek was trying his best not to lose it. He sat at a table with Sam and hoped no one else would show up.

"Sam, have you ever had a dream that felt like, really... real?"

"Like vivid dreaming?"

"I don't know if I know what that is," Derek said. "I think I had one of those dreams or I'm in one now,"

"What are you talking about," he asked. "Dude, you're being really weird today, like weirder than Ralph,"

"Like, yesterday, wasn't what happened in real yesterday. Real yesterday, I was arguing with Casey all damn day, we went to the Fall Festival and she slapped me. Now this yesterday nothing like that happened. I had practice, went to work and then went home,"

"You did do that," Sam said.  
"Look, all I know is that today isn't the nineteenth," Derek said.

"No, it's the twelfth,"

"I know," Derek half snapped.

"And the festival isn't until next week," Sam said, taking a bite of food.

"I know," Derek snapped again. "Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Not at all," Sam shook his head.

"Two yesterdays happened and I was only there for one of them," Derek said. "I've either been having a two and a half year long dream and I've just woken up, or I've been sucked into some kind of alternate reality,"

Sam just looked at his friend like he was crazy.

"I don't even know what to say,"

"I don't know either," Derek said.

Derek was quiet all throughout lunch. In fact, he decided to leave after lunch because he was so confused he gave himself a headache. He went upstairs and saw that everything was how it was before his dad had married Casey's mom. There was no sign of them. He looked through photo albums and nothing. When he got to his room, he saw that he had lots of photos of he and Casey doing things that Derek would never do in a relationship. PDA.

He couldn't do it anymore. He changed into some basketball shorts and a wife beater and fell on his bed. He fell asleep soon after.

He was woken up by his dad a few hours later.

"Derek, Casey is here,"

"I'll be right down," he groaned.

He sat up and rubbed his face to get the sleep off. He slugged his way downstairs and saw that she was sitting on the couch.

"Feeling better?" She asked him as he sat down next to her.

"No," he admitted. "It's just been a weird day,"

Then he did something that wasn't like him at all. He scooted the other direction on the couch and rested his head in her lap. It was like his body took over and any train of thought was completely muted. She started playing with his hair and he sighed.

 _Uh, what the hell are you doing?_

"Do you remember how I asked you to be my girlfriend?"

"Yes," she smiled, "do you?"

"Yeah," he lied. "I just like it when you tell it,"

She chuckled.

"I had been living here for about eight months. It was after your hockey game, you guys lost, but you were excited to see me. You pulled me onto the ice and a banner dropped that read 'will you be mine' and I told you that I thought I already was," she smiled. "It was in front of everyone and you broke your little PDA rule and kissed me in front of the entire school."

He didn't know he had the ability to be that sweet to someone. But then again, he wasn't in the world he remembered. He suddenly sat up and looked at her.

"What?" She asked him.

"Your eyes," he said, "there's green in them,"

"What?"

"I never noticed before, I always just saw the blue but there is, there's a little bit of green in there,"

"As much as I love getting compliments from you, I can only stay a little bit," she said. "I just wanted to check on you and bring you your assignments,"

"Of course you did," he smiled.

He walked her to her moms car and again, his body took over and before she could get in, he blocked her in between his arms by resting his hands on either side of her. He gave her a soft kiss and seemed to have no problem with making it more sensual and romantic. He gave her one more soft kiss.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked him and he nodded. She kissed him once more and he stepped away.

He started walking back to his house.

"Hey, Venturi," she called out to him and he turned around. "I love you,"

"I love you too," _The hell?!_

She smiled and got into the car and drove away. He walked back to his house and he rested against the front door when he got inside. Did he love her? Did he really? Was all the fighting because he loved her and he didn't know how to tell her? He didn't have the mental energy to figure it out.

He walked back up to his room after grabbing the few sheets of paper Casey had brought for him and set them on his desk.

 _Alright, Venturi, this is probably gonna be your life now since you know, you're not trying to get the hell out!_

"This can't be" he said out loud.

 _Well it is. Everything else is the same for the most part. Emily hates you but at least you have a girlfriend. I mean, Casey is your girlfriend but still. Casey. Casey is your girlfriend._

"Casey is my girlfriend,"

 _She loves you, like, actually loves you. And apparently you love her too since you said it back. And bro, why the hell did you have to say that shit about her eyes, she's never gonna let you live this down._

"Okay, stop it Derek," he said. "I can't think about this anymore,"

 _Okay so lets not think about the fact that you went backwards a week. You're just gonna live in this world for the rest of your life?_

"It's not like I have a choice, I just need to let this go,"

 _No what you need to do is not shut your brain off when she's around. You allow PDA now? And I'm the only thing that could potentially help you in all this. I know you're not dating Casey. She practically bitch slapped you yesterday._

Derek groaned in frustration and forced himself to go back to sleep. Maybe it would shut himself up.

When he woke up the next morning, he really hoped it was all a dream. He saw the picture of him and Casey together and he realized that it wasn't. He thought he might as well try to make the most of it. Thankfully it was Saturday so he planned on staying in his room all day. He didn't really want to deal with anyone.

"Derek?" His dad called out to him. "I'm taking Edwin and Marti to your mom's,"

"Alright,"

"I'll probably stay in Toronto for the weekend with some friends and I'll be back with the kids on Sunday,"

Derek nodded.

"No parties," he said.

"Dad, I am in no mood for a party," Derek said.

"Is everything okay?"

 _There's a question you haven't been asked. Don't you dare tell him what's going on, he'll send you to the loony bin._

"Yeah," he admitted, "I've just had a weird couple of days,"

"Everything going okay with Casey?"

 _No, dad, she's my girlfriend now._

"Everything is great,"

"I really like Casey," his dad said. "She's helped you stay on track with your studies and your marks the last two years. I was really worried you weren't going to graduate,"

"Well you don't have to worry," Derek said. "Let me know when you're all settled in,"

"Okay,"

His dad walked out of his room and after a few minutes, he heard the front door close. He sighed and spun slowly in his chair. He stopped in front of his bulletin board and looked at the pictures. He noticed some of them had an impression from the backside and so he unpinned all of them to check.

All of them had dates written on the back and which event it was. Every single one of them. He decided to take out a notebook and write down all the dates on the photos to cross reference them from his memory. For instance, Casey's Sweet Sixteen, she really got her appendix removed. Kendra's Sweet Sixteen, he went to that party alone. In fact Casey wasn't even invited. Last year, Halloween, he didn't even do anything because he was grounded. James Burton's party, he and Casey tried to sneak out and dented his dad's new car. And he ended up sneaking out and went with Ralph. But they both were grounded that weekend too. Max's party, Sam's party, even Klink's party, he was volunteered for the Fun Fair. There were dances he went stag to, last years prom, Casey went with Max. He ripped her dress and then was guilt tripped into fixing it by Emily and his date Sally. But every single photo from these events, he was with Casey. Arms wrapped around her, kissing her, hugging her, everything.

 _What was the point of all this? This is only gonna make you more crazy._

His thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell. He walked downstairs and answered door. He was greeted by Casey, Chinese food and a bag of DVD's. He smiled and grabbed the food from her.

"Where is everyone?" She asked.

"My dad took the kids to Toronto for the weekend,"

"So... the whole house is yours?"

"Until Sunday afternoon," he chuckled.

They ate food and watched a few movies.

"It's getting late," he said. "Aren't you past your curfew?"

"My mom thinks I'm staying at Kendra's,"

 _Casey lying? That's kinda hot – wait no it's not!_

"Oh," he said.

 _Oh? Dude, don't even think about doing what I think you're thinking about doing. Once you go there, there's no going back. You can't erase it._

"Is that okay?" She asked.

"Yeah," he replied.

 _No it's not okay! What the hell are you doing?_

"I'm gonna go change," she said. She gave him a quick kiss and walked up to his room.

He followed her and when he got into his room, She had just put on a large shirt and she was just in her underwear.

 _Holy shit, Casey is smokin' hot!_

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," he said.

 _Oh yeah, go the bathroom to get your stash. I can't believe what you're about to do._

"Shut up," he muttered.

 _I will not shut up! This is crazy!_

"This whole thing is crazy," Derek said. "And besides you can't say that she's hot and then bitch at me for something that I don't even know is gonna happen,"

Derek splashed water on his face and sighed.

 _I know this is gonna happen, it's you. And this isn't gonna go over well and you know it. We need to get back to reality dude, if you sleep with Casey and then go back home, what's that gonna do to you? It'll only make you crazy._

"This is my life now," he said.

 _So that's it, you're just gonna give up? You're not gonna try to go back? You're pretty stupid sometimes but this is probably the stupidest thing you've ever done._

"Go away!" He shouted.

"Who are you talking to?" Casey asked after she walked into the bathroom.

"Fly," he lied.

 _You're not gonna make me go away that easy. I'm the only thing that is letting you know that this shit isn't supposed to go down._

"You ready for bed?" She asked him.

She grabbed his hand and they walked into his room. He shut the door and turned off his desk lamp.

 _Derek, please don't do this. You're gonna regret it in the morning._

He plugged his phone in to charge. He set his laptop up on the bed to fall asleep to another movie.

 _Derek, please, I'm begging you. As hot as she is, you can't do this, it'll ruin everything._

He was really tired of arguing with himself in his head. He decided to the only thing he knew to shut his mind up. He walked over to Casey and he kissed her.

 _Derek, no!_

And then his mind was shut off. He climbed on top of her and the night progressed. When he woke up in the morning, she was gone but he smelled food cooking. He got dressed and walked downstairs. He was greeted with a plate of breakfast. They had a nice breakfast and then she had to go home.

 _I hope you feel pretty good about yourself right now._

Derek rolled his eyes at the voice in his head.

 _Oh, you're gonna ignore me?_

"I'm trying to," he sighed out.

And he did his best to ignore his inner thoughts for the rest of the day.

XX

A few days had passed and he was starting to just accept the fact that this was going to be his life. And he was starting to be okay with it. He really enjoyed spending time with Casey too. He saw a different side of her that he had never seen before. Sure she still had her freak outs but they were easier to handle. And when he was with her, it all seemed so effortless. He almost wondered if it would be that easy if they hadn't been fighting all the damn time. The only thing that bothered him was Emily. He didn't really like the fact that Casey and Emily weren't friends.

 _I hope you know what you're doing._

"You really need to stop questioning me," he said softly to himself.

 _You hooked up with Casey, I think I have the right to question you._

Derek chose to sit at a different table and he spotted Emily. Casey had a student counsel meeting so she was having lunch elsewhere.

"Emily,"

She paused, looked around for a second and walked over to the table.

"Join me?" He asked her.

"Sure,"

She sat down in front of him and waited.

"So," he said. "How's it going?"

"What do you want?"

"I would like to eat lunch with you and talk this out,"

"Talk what out?"

"You and Casey," Derek said.

"You're the reason why me and Casey aren't friends," she said.

 _Ouch._

"Because of me,"

"Yeah, you two started dating and she completely blew me off. Not to mention I was only invited to one of Kendra's birthdays for everyone to make fun of me when I tried to talk to Casey,"

"They made fun of you?" Derek asked.

"Yep," she said. "It was supposed to be a slumber party and when I tried to be involved, all they did was laugh at me,"

 _Kendra is such a bitch. In the real world I'm glad you broke up with her, but in this world, I'm glad you never dated her._

"You two being together doesn't bother me," she said. "But I thought I was Casey's friend and she didn't even stick up for me,"

"I'm sorry," he said.

"It was Casey's choice to be that way, you didn't tell her to do any of that stuff,"

"Derek,"

 _Ah, shit, Kendra._

"What are you doing, this isn't your table,"

"Well today it is," Derek said. "I'm eating lunch with my friend Emily,"

"Why?"

"Because I want to," Derek snapped.

"Derek, need I remind you of the rules?" Kendra asked. "You can't associate with anyone with a popularity score under seven, and Emily Davis? She's a four, and that's being gracious,"

"I think you mean generous, and your attitude is a big fat zero," he snapped. "I'm having lunch with Emily, and I'm not asking,"

Kendra scoffed and stormed away. Derek ignored the looks from his friends from across the room.

"Wow," Emily said. "That was awesome,"

And the rest of lunch he had a great conversation with Emily. It was a nice bit of normalcy that he needed. He knew that Kendra had told Casey because he had heard from her at all. He was walking to his car and he spotted her sitting on the trunk.

"So, you had lunch with Emily today?"

"Yep," he said.

"And you thought you didn't have to tell me because?"

"I didn't need to tell you," he half snapped at her.

"Okay, why are you being a jerk?"

He sighed, tossed his bag into the car and slammed the door.

"I can ask you the same question," he said.

"What are you talking about?"

"Who is more of a jerk, me for having lunch with Emily, or you, for allowing Kendra to invite her to a party just so you guys could make fun of her?"

"Emily told you that?"

"Yeah, she did," Derek said. "I thought you were the type of person who didn't give into peer pressure. I thought you were nice to people,"

"Derek, you know how Kendra is," Casey argued.

"What, you think that if you weren't mean like her your score would go down?" Derek asked. "This isn't about a score Casey, this is about doing the right thing and being a good person,"

Derek ran his hand through his hair with frustration.

"You know? I had a great time with Emily today. She's really funny too," Derek said. "I think you're missing out on a really great friend but you're too stuck up Kendra's ass to realize it. You think your popularity score is gonna change because of Kendra? I created that shit,"

"Derek,"

"No, listen to me," Derek snapped. "All this? It's not gonna matter after high school. This isn't gonna mean shit when we leave this place for good,"

"So what you think I should just talk to Emily? Like me talking to her is gonna make everything okay?"

"Yeah," he said opening his door, "I really do,"

He got in his car and drove out of the parking lot. He ignored Casey's calls for the rest of the night too.

 _Now you're being your normal self._

"No, Casey needs to get the picture,"

 _I can't believe that she would actually do that._

"She'll get it,"

 _Hey, if she doesn't you can break up with her!_

"Shut the hell up!"

He didn't know how much longer he could deal with his head.

XX

The next morning, he was at his locker and Casey walked right by him. He knew she was still mad but he just called her out. And during lunch, she surprised him. He was just about to walk to his table when Casey slowly walked over to Emily.

"Hey,"

"Casey, hi,"

"Can I sit down?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure,"

Casey sat down and noticed Kendra glaring at her. She looked back at Emily and sighed.

"I totally get it if after what I tell you, you don't care," Casey said. "But I'm really sorry; for blowing you off and Kendra's party, and everything,"

"Really?" Emily asked.

"Yeah," Casey said. "I am,"

Emily stood up and grabbed Casey's hand to pull her up too. She wrapped her arms around her in a hug and they both shared a laugh.

"I forgive you," she said.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kendra demanded. "You're messing everything up,"

"You know, Kendra? I don't care," Casey said. "I'd rather be a zero and have real friends than be a ten and have fake friends,"

"You really wanna test me? I can ruin your reputation and you know it,"

"Do it," Casey said. "And while you're at it, why don't you shove that pretty little score book right up your ass,"

Derek smiled and walked over to Casey as Kendra stormed away.

"Mind if I join you ladies?" He asked.

"Sit down," Emily smiled.

Derek sat down and smiled at Casey.

"Got room for one more?" Ralph asked.

"Two more?" Sam asked.

"Sure," Emily said. "Hey guys,"

"Hey, um, look, we're-"

"I know," Emily nodded, "Thanks,"

Sam and Ralph smiled.

"I thought it was really cool of you to stand up to Kendra," Sam said.

"I had some tough love thrown at me yesterday," she said looking at Derek. "Thank you,"

"And you're totally a ten in our book just from that act alone," Ralph said.

"Lets not have a score book anymore," Derek said.

"Thank God," Ralph sighed out, "I can't keep track anymore, sometimes I just wanna talk to someone and I don't know if I can or not,"

They all laughed.

After lunch, Derek walked in the hall with Casey. So much had happened in that short amount of time he needed a little quiet.

"You were great in there," he said.

"Take credit for it, if you hadn't said anything I would have never done it,"

"Are you happy?"

"Yeah," she said. "I stood up to Kendra, which my heart is still pounding," she laughed. "And I got a friend back,"

"Glad I could help,"

"The Fall Festival is tomorrow, wanna go?" She asked him.

"Yeah," he said. "That'd be fun,"

XX

The next day went pretty well. He was actually surprised that his thoughts had died down. Maybe his inner self was finally accepting the fact that this was it. And he was okay with it. He walked hand in hand with Casey. Emily, Sam and Ralph were with them too. They had a lot of fun too. They got on rides, took pictures, and ate more food than they had planned on. And suddenly it was like deja vu. They were in the exact spot where they got into another argument. He thought he was hallucinating because he actually saw himself arguing with Casey. He saw the hurt look on her face after he told her to disappear. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

They were gone.

 _Wow, I don't think I've seen her look so upset before. You were a dick!_

"Let's get hot coco," Casey said to him, pulling him out of whatever he had just seen.

She grabbed his hand and when they got to the stand, he reached in his pocket to pull out money and something dropped on the ground. He handed her the cash and bent down to pick it up. It was the card he got from that game.

 _Your wish is my command..._

He looked around and started walking without telling anyone where he was going. He turned down another row at the festival and it was silent. There was no one around. He walked down a row of old arcade games. He noticed one other person and he started walking faster and noticed it was him. He was standing at the machine and he watched himself put a quarter in and make a wish.

 _My wish... it came true?_

He watched himself pull out a card, read it and shove it into his pocket. Then walked away.

He walked over to the game and noticed a fortune teller make a wish type game. There was a large figure in the center. It looked like Charlie Chaplin but with a thin mustache and a go-t. It had a turbine thing on it's head and he looked pissed. There was a ramp sliding back and forth in front of it and the figure kept opening and closing the mouth.

He pulled out a quarter and paused.

 _Derek... make the wish._

"What about Casey?"

 _As much as we love her, we can't stay here._

"Oh, now it's we?"

 _There's no denying it anymore. If we stay here, then everything will change._

"What if we did stay?" He asked himself.

" _We can't. You know we can't."_

"Then what? We just love her from afar?" Derek asked, "How is that fair?"

 _Deep down, you never thought it was fair. Dad marrying her mom, why do you think you were so pissed? She was untouchable._

"So why is it so important to go back, huh?"

 _Derek, you know we have to go back._

He knew his inner self was right. He knew that if he stayed, everything would change. He wouldn't know Nora or Lizzie as well as he did. They were his family. He put it into the coin slot. He made it in the mouth just like before. The same red letters lit up and he sighed.

 _Make the wish._

"I wish... I wish everything was back to normal, just no more fighting...anything," Derek said.

And just like before, the red lights shut off and the machine spit out a card.

 _Your wish is my command..._

And just like that, it was like someone turned the lights on. He was surrounded by people again. He shoved the card into his pocket and walked back over to his friends.

"Where'd you go?" Casey asked him when he got back.

"I just wanted to see if something was here, it's not," he smiled.

"Okay, well we've got a lot more to see, my mom said I can stay til closing,"

He smirked when she grabbed Emily's hand and ran off ahead of the guys. Sam and Ralph followed them, talking and laughing about something.

 _You did the right thing._

"Then why do I feel like shit,"

He followed his friends and for the rest of the night he took mental images of Casey and her smile. He memorized her touch and her smell. He was going to make damn sure that when he woke up, he'd remember the night.

When he dropped her off at home, he got out of the car with her. He grabbed her hand and sighed.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you, too," she said. "You alright?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "just sucks the night has to end,"

"There will be more," she said, "I promise."

He leaned down and kissed like he did when she was at his house, pouring everything he could into that kiss. He wished her good night and left.

"You weren't in my head," he said.

 _I figured you needed me to go away._

When he got home just to be sure he remembered, he pulled out a notebook and wrote everything down before he drifted off to sleep. Even if it was going to disappear in the morning.

XX

"Derek!" His dad yelled at him through the door. "You're gonna be late!"

Derek shot up in bed and groaned.

"I'm up," he said. He got out of bed and went to the bathroom.

As his reflection past, he stopped to do a double take in the mirror. He saw a bruise on his cheek. He groaned in pain when he touched it to make sure it was real.

"Yes!" He shouted in the bathroom and actually started cheering.

He was greeted by a very concerned Lizzie and all he did was pick her up into a hug.

"Oh, God, I'm back!" He said.

"Mom!"

Derek put her down and went back into his room to change. And boy did he change fast. He ran downstairs and gave Nora a hug right away.

"Oh, good morning,"

"It's a great morning," he said. "Where's Casey?"

"She got a ride with Emily," Nora said.

"Derek, are you on drugs?" His dad asked.

"Yeah, really," Edwin said. "Normally you just grunt in the morning,"

"No, I'm not," Derek said.

"Casey did a real number on you, how are you not still mad?" Edwin asked.

"Ed, you'll learn really soon that life's too short,"

"Too short for what?"

"You'll figure it out," Derek smirked, "I gotta go find Casey,"

After he got to school, he hurried through the halls looking for Casey. He spotted Emily and stopped her.

"Where's Casey?" He asked her.

"In the gym," she said a little shocked. "What happened to your face?"

All he did was run off to the gym ignoring Emily's call. When he got there, she was hanging up signs for the pep rally. She turned around and was surprised to see him there.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi,"

"Look," he sighed, "I don't even know where to begin honestly,"

"What do you mean?" She asked him.

"Something really weird happened," he said. "Like, I was sucked into another universe and we weren't fighting with each other,"

"Well that must have been a dream," she said.

"That's the thing, I don't know if it was or not. But I do know that I don't wanna fight this anymore,"

"Fight what?"

"Well," he chuckled, "I might get slapped again but I'm willing to risk it,"

He took one more step closer to her, cupped her face and gently crashed his lips into hers. He really was expecting for her to hit him again but she didn't.

"Um," she said. "What?"

"You really do have green in your eyes," he said.

And this time, she kissed him. His hands went to her waist and he held her closer to him.

"I'm sorry about your face," she said after she broke the kiss.

"I'm sorry about your face, too," he smirked.

"No, really," she said. "I'm sorry I hit you,"

"I deserved it," he said softly. "I'm sorry for what I said last night,"

He leaned down and kissed her again and off in the distance, Emily was smiling at the sight of her friends. Sam and Ralph were there too.

"Well, looks like they're making up," Sam said.

"Really? It looks like they're making out," Ralph said. "Aw man!"

"Ralph," Emily said.

"No, I already have to deal with Sam and Kendra, now I gotta deal with them too?"

"You're just jealous because Amanda dumped you," Emily said.

"Hey, Emily, wanna go out?"

Sam laughed and Emily rolled her eyes.

"Alright you two love birds," she called out to them. "We have class,"

Derek looked back at his friends and smiled. He grabbed Casey's hand and walked over to them.

"I hope the fighting is gonna stop," Emily said.

"I'm pretty sure it will," Derek said.

"Dude," Ralph said, "what happened to your face,"

They got back to the main halls still hand in hand, ignoring stares and whispers.

"This is the work of Casey," Derek said.

"Yeah, so you better watch out Ralphie," Casey said.

"Well, I know who to call if I need back up," Sam joked.

"What is going on here?" Kendra asked. "Whatever, is the fighting gonna stop?"

"Yes," Casey nodded.

"Well, it's about time," Kendra said.

"Yeah, and it's also about time that you tell me when to pick you up for dinner tonight," Ralph said to Emily.

"Oh, my god," Emily said.

"I'm a fun date," Ralph said.

"Ralph,"

"C'mon Emily,"

"Yeah, c'mon Emily," Casey said.

Emily rolled her eyes as her friends laughed.


	2. I Bet You Look Sexy With Your Hair Down

**I BET YOU LOOK SEXY WITH YOUR HAIR DOWN**

 **Location & Time: Queens (Zeta Sorority House), Third Year**

She was inside her sorority house, mingling with more of the sophisticated fraternity _men_ at Queens University. Her house had planned a formal mixer on campus where it was black tie only. Classical music was heard in the background at a reasonable volume and when she was about to take a sip of her champagne, she heard it. Loud thumping and chatter.

"Excuse me," she said politely.

Her heels clicked on the hardwood floor to the double french door and she threw them open. The yard was full of people and by her count, six different kegs. People were doing keg stands and there were already naked people in the pool.

The Zeta House Mixer was officially crashed.

She huffed, fixed her black topless dress and marched over to the person she knew was in charge. He was standing at the keg filling up cups and she cleared her throat with a very loud 'ahem'. He turned and gave her a smirk. He looked her up and down and damn. He had seen her dressed up before but seeing her in those black heels and that skin tight black dress, it almost sent him over the edge... _almost_.

"Hey, Case," he said, "you look fuckin' hot, here." He offered her a cup of beer and she slapped his hand away.

"Der-ek!" She snapped.

"Party foul!"

"What the _hell_ are you doing?" She demanded.

"What, I'm wearing a tie,"

She looked at his attire and rolled her eyes. His Converses, blue jean cut off shorts and his red shirt with is own Greek letters printed on the front didn't make the situation better just because he had a loose tie on around his neck.

"Derek, the Beta's weren't invited," Casey said.

"I know, and to be perfectly honest, we're offended because Zeta's are _always_ invited to the Beta House,"

"If you hadn't noticed, we never go," Casey reminded him.

"And who's fault is that?"

"You and your neanderthal frat house," Casey said. "The last party we went to it was nothing but a brothel of naked women, vomit and boner contests,"

"That was a great night," he smiled.

"And now I can officially say that I've seen more of you than I ever wanted," Casey scoffed.

"You loved it," he smirked.

She scoffed in disgust.

"All you gotta do is ask," he smirked. "Come on, Case, live a little,"

"I am, now if you don't mind, leave,"

She turned and started walking away.

"Yeah, you go and have fun with your boring champagne clinking and caviar eating,"

"Oh, I will have fun," she said, turning back to him.

"I bet you look really sexy with your hair down," he flirted.

"My hair is down," she said, touching her long locks.

He started saying that to her when the first got to Queens. It was always in that same flirty tone and she never could figure out what it meant. Especially when he would say it when her hair was already down.

"One drink with me,"

Before she could answer, her attention was turned to people going into the house and she sighed. She stormed back into her house when Derek following her. If she was going to have a drink with Derek, it was going to be something other than beer.

"Uh, Casey?" Kelly, one of her sisters called to her. "What are the Beta's doing here?"

"I have no idea," Casey said.

"Parker and his brothers are about to leave,"

"Parker Bar – _Parker_ _Barrett?_ " Derek asked and Kelly groaned. "He's a Kappa!"

"And Zeta's and Kappa's are destined to be together," Kelly said, "it's in the Greek handbook,"

"Okay, you need to loosen your bra straps small woman," Derek said, getting a scoff from Kelly. "Seriously, Case, Parker Barrett?"  
"Derek Venturi," Parker greeted.

Parker Barrett was president of the Kappa house on campus. He was your typical rich and preppy douche bag who had his daddy to pay for everything. He always showed up to mixers and parties in a stupid sweater vest and khakis. Totally the picture perfect guy for Casey and Derek loathed him.

"I see you dressed up," Parker said to him.

"Yes, I have," Derek smirked, "that a new sweater vest?"

Parker rolled his green eyes and looked at Casey.

"I thought the Beta's weren't supposed to be here,"

"And I thought this was a douche free zone," Derek smirked.

"Der-ek!" Casey snapped. "Please tell me what I can do to shut you up,"

He threw his arm around her and pulled her close. He put his lips to her ear and whispered something and she gasped. And before Casey could say anything more, Parker and his friends left. She turned to Derek and slammed the heel of her hand into his shoulder.

"What up with the violence?" He asked her. "You know you want too,"

"Der-ek, take your bros and your hoes and get out of here! And tell Parker to come back while you're at it," Casey snapped.

"Parker is a douche bag," Derek said.

"Actually, Parker is a very nice guy," Kelly chimed in, "and his dad is the head of a huge law firm in New York and offered Casey a job after graduation,"

"Yeah, and I might not even have that offer thanks to you," Casey snapped.

"What about your dad?"

"I wanted to get in somewhere _without_ the help of my dad, thank you,"

Casey downed her drink and sighed.

"You're the worst,"

"I'll play you for it," Derek said.  
"What?" Casey asked.

"If you win, we'll go back to the Beta house, _and_ , we'll help clean up in the morning," Derek said.

"Oh, god," Kelly groaned.

"If I win, the Beta's stay," Derek said, "and we'll still help clean up in the morning,"

"Casey, don't," Kelly begged.

"High card, low card," Derek said, "we go through the whole deck and whoever gets a low card has to take a shot,"

"That's insane!" Casey said, "I could die of alcohol poisoning,"

"Fine," Derek sighed, "if you need it, you can have a DD,"

"A DD?"

"Designated Drinker," he smirked.

"What if we get the same card?" Casey asked and Kelly groaned.

"We both take a shot,"

"Fine," Casey snapped and Derek smirked.

After Derek made the announcement, they were all outside around a table. Derek split a deck evenly and took a swig of his beer.

"Aces are low," Derek said.

"My house, aces are high," Casey said.

"As you wish," he said as he threw an ace on the table, "bottoms up, McDonald,"

He smirked at the glare she gave him before she took a shot of vodka. She made a face and slammed the shot glass down. Clearly her card was lower.

The game went pretty quick and they were both feeling the alcohol by that time. They both had one card left and Casey threw down a queen. Her sisters cheered and started to get a little excited. To know that the Beta's would have to leave made them feel like the card game was worth it.

"Well, McDonald, looks like Beta's," he said before throwing down his last card, "are staying,"

"King!" His brothers cheered while Casey grabbed her head in frustration.

"God, now I need a shot or 25," Kelly groaned.

Casey stood up from her seat, wobbled a little bit, and went inside. Derek stood up and followed her. He waited a few minutes before he followed her upstairs. He walked into her room right as she was coming out of her bathroom. He chuckled when she stumbled out.

"What are you doing in here?" She asked him.

"Checkin' on you," he smirked.

"Why?"

"Why Parker Barrett?" Derek asked, getting comfortable on her bed.

"Parker is smart, funny, and sophisticated," Casey said, "and he said I looked beautiful tonight." Derek rolled his eyes. "The last compliment I heard out of your mouth was," she cleared her throat to mock his lower voice, "you look fuckin' hot,"

"You do look fuckin' hot," he said, "everyday, actually, and I'm still waiting for an answer to my request,"

"Oh, god," she groaned.

"Told you things were gonna change when we got here,"

She kicked herself everyday for making that deal with him when they first got to Queens. They both thought it would be a great idea if no one on campus knew they were step siblings. And at first it was a good idea, until Derek started getting ballsy one night and started hitting on her. He had never made an actual move on her but he had groped her in places he had never groped before. But it was their third year and he had been trying to rock the boat as much as he could. So when he said they were going to be 'best buds' she never thought it was going to be like this.

She rolled her eyes and walked to her bedroom door to leave.

"Are you even wearing underwear?" He asked her.

"I'm not wearing _anything_ under this dress,"

She smirked as she walked out when she heard him groan. She walked back down to the party she never intended on having and saw that the majority of her sorority sisters were having a blast. She walked into the kitchen and started making herself a drink and when she turned around two Beta boys ran past her naked. She let out an exhausted sigh and rolled her eyes. Derek came back downstairs and said nothing to her as he walked back outside.

An hour later, she was pretty drunk. She wandered outside and spotted Derek sitting on a small patio bench. She walked over to him and sat down on his lap. He spilled a little bit of his drink on her dress when she sat down.

"Oh, shit," he slurred out.

"Eh," Casey waved off. "What were we talking about inside?"

Derek knew that he was drunk but he was also confused because Casey, even at her drunkest, had _never_ sat on his lap before.

"Parker Barrett?" Derek asked.

" _Parker Barrett?_ He's so boring," she said. "I want someone exciting and random and wild,"

Derek nodded and suddenly was drawn to how amazing her legs looked with those heels on. Then he was confused as to how she could still be wearing them.

"You know?" She asked him.

"Hmm?"

"You _never_ listen to me," she pouted.

"You _always_ distract me," he smirked.

"Why do you hit on me so much but never do anything?"

"I didn't know I could do anything," he murmured.

"You're the only guy here who has publicly hit on me and never does anything,"

"What would you like me to do?"

"I want you to take that stupid tie off and hang it on my door,"

And the next thing he knew, they were stumbling into her room, lips locked. He did manage to hang his tie on the door like she told him to before he kicked it shut. And she wasn't lying, she really wasn't wearing anything under her dress.

XX

The next morning – afternoon, she woke up around three. She groaned and got out of bed. She was fully aware of what happened with Derek the night before so she wasn't surprised when she noticed she was naked. She slipped into shorts and a tank top and stepped into her slippers. She threw her hair up into a bun and walked downstairs.

"Watch it!" Derek snapped.

"Shut the fuck up," someone else snapped back at him.

"Hey! I'm not shellin' out money to get them a new coffee table if this one breaks," Derek said, "and keep your god damn voice down, the girls are still sleeping,"

"I should be too," they responded back to him. "It was your idea to crash the Zeta mixer anyways,"

"Which is why I'm cleaning up the mess." Derek said. "One Beta decision is everyone's decision,"

"Wow," Casey said, making her presence known.

Derek shooed his brother's away and smirked at Casey. He watched as she inspected the house and was even surprised that the backyard was cleaned up completely.

"I have to say I'm impressed," she said to him. "Nothing is broken and you actually held your end,"

"Yeah," he said. "I'll be back to get you at eight,"

"Why?"

"I'm taking you out,"

"Okay," she smiled a little.

He walked over to her and kissed her softly.

"And I was right," he said. "You look _so_ sexy with your hair down,"

And she finally knew what he meant.


	3. Color

**COLOR**

 **Location & Time: Queens, Second Year**

 _We look like a disaster..._

 _Pieces that don't fit together..._

It was the second year at Queens and Derek and Casey were still at each other's throats with no signs of stopping. They never told any of their new friends about the history they shared or the fact that they were step siblings except for one friend. Their friends all dealt with the arguing, the mean pranks, Derek intruding on any possible chance of a relationship with anyone, the crying from Casey and then Derek apologizing just for him to do it all over again because... well... they were Derek and Casey, that's what they did.

Other times it wasn't so bad. They could bet that for one week out of the month, it would be good. No fighting over stupid things, Derek wouldn't meddle in things involving Casey, and Casey wouldn't come out of no where in a fit of rage over something that he had done to her. Sometimes they thought it would all end until they heard 'De-rek!' and it was always wishful thinking too.

And Casey tried her best to deal and be okay with their relationship but never knew any different. But she tried to bury herself in her studies, reading, and writing. Her friend Jake, Derek's room mate, helped her a lot. But he also helped Derek too. Jake was the only one who knew that they were step siblings and even though he kept it to himself, he had a feeling that all the fighting was because there were feelings more than just angst involved.

But this time, this time she was really angry. Scott, a new love interest that she had only had three dates with, told her that her 'best friend Derek' said that Casey was looking for something serious. As much as Casey tried to tell Scott that it was a lie and that she was totally okay with what they were doing, Scott broke it off. Even though they were never official or anything, but Casey was just dumped. And Casey wasn't looking for something serious. Hell, she didn't even act crazy anymore if a guy didn't call. This was university, and she knew that she needed to learn how to chill. But there was no more chill in her anymore.

She stormed into her room ignoring her room mate, Leigh, and pulled out an empty box from her closet.

"Casey?" Leigh called out as she walked into the room. "What are you doing?"

Casey was pulling down the few photos, ticket and movie stubs, and anything and everything that Derek had given her or left at her dorm. The hockey puck from his first hat trick and the ticket from the first winning game. His old guitar strap that she was trying to turn into a purse strap. And finally the Maple Leaf's pull over that she had stolen from him. All of it was in a box.

"Taking out the trash,"

Her blonde room mate looked at her shocked. She knew better not to get in between an argument. And she knew better that to tell Casey to calm down too so she just let Casey leave with the box full of Derek. She grabbed her phone and sent a text to Jake to give him a heads up.

XX

 _You're worth all the wind, rain and thunder..._

Derek was in his room, studying, when Casey just about exploded through the door. To say it didn't scare him would be an understatement, she scared the hell out of him.

"Casey, what the hell?"

She didn't answer him, she just emptied the contents of the box on his bed. She tried to leave but he was right on her tail. She could barely get to the doorway before his arms were wrapped around her. He pulled her back and managed to kick the door shut.

"Derek, let me go," she snapped.

"What the hell is your problem?"

"What did you tell Scott?"

She finally got out of his grasp and glared at him.

"Why, Derek?" She asked him. "Is me being happy such a problem for you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Why did you tell Scott that I was some crazy, psycho stalker? Why would you tell him that? Because of you, another guy doesn't wanna see me,"

"I don't like Scott," he said. "I said that you wanted to be more serious,"

"I don't like any of the girls you've been with and I've kept my mouth shut, why can't you keep yours shut,"

He knew that he couldn't answer her. He wasn't even ready to answer that question if he asked himself.

"Case-"

"Just stay away from me,"

He tried to stop her again when she turned to leave and pushed him away from her slightly.

"I hate you,"

He was frozen until he heard the front door open and slam shut. He let out the breath he didn't even know he was holding and looked at the mess on his bed. He felt something that he hadn't felt in a long time. That feeling of being scared or nervous. It was like a tickle in the bottom of his stomach that he couldn't scratch. Casey had never said that she hated him, at least not like that. Every other time she was pissed at him or there was a hint of laughter in her voice. This time, there was nothing.

"Hey," a voice called to him.

He shot his gaze in the direction of the voice to see Jake. Jake walked in and looked at the mess on the bed.

"Did Casey break up with you?" Jake asked.

XX

For two weeks, Derek stayed away. But Casey's birthday was coming up and there was no way he would be able to see her. Over the two weeks, he didn't try to call her or text her. The few classes they shared, he didn't try to sit next to her and he never even gave her a second glance. He even started writing with the help of Jake telling him it might help. One night, Jake was finishing up a song that he was working on when Derek walked into his room with a disc.

"Casey's birthday collage," Derek said.

"You're still not gonna come by?"

"Casey told me to stay away from her," Derek said, "that's my gift,"

Jake rolled his eyes and turned back to his computer. He noticed a familiar title.

"Is that mine?" Derek asked.

"Oh," Jake said. "Out of the thousands of pages you wrote on and left around this place, this one was my favorite,"

"You turned it into a song?"

Jake clicked on the play button and he listened. He smirked and bobbed his head to the music. He thought it was cool how his room mate turned something that he wrote into a song. And it was actually pretty good.

"What do you think?" Jake asked.

"It's awesome," Derek said.

"Good, because it's for Casey,"

"Dude,"

"What, it's _about_ Casey, might as well give it to her,"

"It's not about Casey," Derek snapped as he grabbed the disc back.

Derek headed back to his room and stopped when he heard his friend.

"What's your and Casey's color?"

Derek sighed and continued his way back to his room. He had spent a week on that photo collage video and now he had to do some editing thanks to that song. A week of putting together a slide show of Casey and their friends and video clips of them just messing around. Now, he had some thinking to do.

XX

It was the day before he birthday. She had just grabbed her coffee and was greeted by Leigh.

"So, are you excited?" Leigh asked.

"For my birthday?" Casey asked. "No,"

"It's not a surprise party or anything," Leigh said. "I learned my lesson,"

"It's just different this year,"

"Because of Derek?"

"Hey, I've enjoyed not getting pranked for my birthday week," Casey said. "It's just weird that he hasn't even tried anything,"

"You told him to leave you alone,"

"You talked to him?" Casey asked.

"Of course I did," Leigh said.

Casey just looked at Leigh, waiting for her to continue and she scoffed.

"What else did he say?" Casey asked.

"He misses you,"

Later that night, Leigh, Jake and Derek had just finished the ending to the video that Derek had made with shout of 'happy birthday' and throwing confetti around.

"Can we see it?" Leigh asked.

"No, you can wait til tomorrow," Derek said. "Plus I still need to add something,"

"A confession of your love?" Jake asked.

"I was actually thinking about punching you in the face," Derek smirked.

"Well what ever you do, it's gonna be something sweet," Leigh said to him.

"Trust me, there's no ill intent," Derek said.

"Good," she said. "I want tomorrow night to be as Casey perfect as possible, we all remember how last year went... _Derek_ ,"

"Yeah, yeah, now go so I can finish this,"

XX

Casey's birthday. They didn't have classes that day so she spent most of the day on the couch with Leigh watching movies. There was a knock on the door and Leigh answered it. She came back into the living room with a large vase full of pink lilies and white daisy's and holding a box.

"Oh, my God," Leigh said. "I don't think I've seen this many flowers before,"

"Me either,"

Casey reached for the card and opened it up.

 _Happy Birthday_

 _Love Always, D._

"They're from Derek," Casey said.

"Really?"

"He's never got me flowers before,"

She looked at them and smiled. They really were beautiful. She opened the box and it was his Maple Leaf's hoodie that she loved so much. She pulled it out of the box and smiled again.

"Do you wanna call him?" Leigh asked.

"No," she shook her head.

XX

That night started off well. There was no surprise party, just friends hanging out at a small sports bar. Jake and his band played there every Friday and Saturday night so it was the perfect spot for her to have a little celebration.

"Alright everyone thanks for coming out tonight," Jake said into the microphone. "But tonight is a special night because it's one of my dear friends birthday. Happy Birthday Casey,"

Casey smiled and suddenly a video started playing right as the music did. Derek was on the screen and she looked at Leigh confused and Leigh just shrugged.

" _Hey Case, there are so many things I could say to try to tell you how much you mean to me but everytime I try, I can't seem to find the words. But maybe this will help..."_

Pictures began popping up on the screen of her and Derek smiling, Jake, Leigh, and their other friends being goof balls. Video clips of her dancing around her room and then catching the camera man, goofing around on campus, parties and just at home.

" _You're crazy, and passionate, and a little overbearing at times but I wouldn't change it for anything..."_

More photos and videos of her and her friends. Casey smiled and hugged Leigh. Casey's favorite clip was there one where Derek ran onto the ice with his shoes on and pretended to play air guitar and a clip of all four of them being weird and dancing around too. Some of the pictures she didn't even know were taken until that night. But there was one clip that she recognized. It was taken in one of the classes that she shared with Derek and he was sitting behind her. He pointed at her, drew a heart in the air and then put his finger to his lips to tell whoever was behind the camera to be quiet and he smirked.

That was the day before.

And then her favorite picture came up. They were at a party or something, but she was standing in front of him and he had his arms wrapped around her shoulders. It was a simple picture but Derek had a genuine smile on his face and not a smirk. She blinked rapidly and she didn't even realize she was crying either.

And, her friends and Derek all shouted happy birthday and threw confetti into the air. Leigh was heard saying 'we love you' and blew a kiss at the camera, Jake bowed for his performance and gave Derek a high five. The image faded to black and popped back on with just Derek.

" _I love you too, Case," he finally said out loud, "happy birthday,"_

Suddenly an arm slithered around her shoulders and she felt lips to her ear.

"Happy Birthday," he said softly.

Apparently Derek had been watching from the back so she couldn't see he was there.

"Derek?" She asked as she turned around.

He leaned down and kissed her and much to his surprise, she kissed him back.

"How long did it take for you to realize?" She asked him.

"Too long," he smiled.

 _They see our black and white..._

 _I see our color..._


	4. Dreams

**DREAMS**

 **Location & Time: Thompson High, Grade 12**

Something weird was happening to a certain teenage boy. Something weird was going in with Derek Venturi.

For the last week, Derek had been having... _dreams_... about... Casey. Musings, if you will. But these said musings had made him look at Casey completely different. It didn't help any when he ran into her as she was coming out of the bathroom, soaking wet, in nothing but a towel.

But lets rewind the video for a minute, and take you back to where it all started.

Monday. Monday's are usually the busiest days in any household. You're usually waking up late for work or school, end of forgetting something you needed that day, or just having the universal hate for Monday. And this Monday was no different. Derek and Casey were bickering as usual, arguing about who was driving to school that day, the normal routine. And school went as usual too. The occasional snide comment to one another in the halls during passing period and completely avoiding each other at lunch.

But Derek got home after Casey, he had hockey practice and wanted nothing more than to just take a nap. He joined his family for dinner and then excused himself for a much needed long hot shower. He quickly got dressed and walked into his room. He was drying the rest of his body when Casey knocked on the door.

"Come in," he said loudly.

"Hey," she said.

She looked at his toned body and wondered when he had bulked up so much. She hadn't noticed before but then again, she never took the time to notice anyways.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Um..." she stammered.

"Space cadet," he said, "what do you need, I'm tired,"

"Are you working on Saturday?"

"Um," he closed his eyes to think, "one to six, why?"

"Would it be alright if I used the car?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's fine,"

She just looked at him, slightly shocked.

"What?" She asked, "That's it?"

"Casey, I'm exhausted and my entire body hurts from practice today," he said, "I am in no mood to argue,"

She turned on her heel and walked out of his room only to walk back in with something in a bottle.

"Lay down," she said.

"What is that?"

"It's gonna help with your sore muscles, now lay down,"

"I can do it myself,"

"Fine," she shrugged.

She tossed him the bottle and shut his door on her way out. He opened the bottle and squeezed the lotion onto his hand. Right when he tried to reach for his shoulders, he groaned. He sighed. He didn't want too, but he knocked on the shared wall he had with Casey and she came back in.

"Will you do it?" He asked her.

She rolled her eyes and took the lotion from his hand along with the bottle.

"Lay down,"

He sighed and positioned himself on his stomach. He rested his hands under his head and he relaxed. Man, did it feel good to lay down. He felt her climb on top of him, straddling him.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna put this on your back," she said to him in tone.

"Do you have to do it like this?"

"Yes," she said, "now relax,"

"No funny business, McDonald,"

"Trust me, nothing about this business is going to be funny, Venturi,"

He huffed and waited. He soon felt her hands on his back, gently rubbing in the cream all over his sore muscles. And he was feeling good. He wasn't sure if it was that magic cream, her hands on his skin or both, but he was really feeling good. His eyes fell shut and he sighed contently.

"Why is coach riding you so much?" Casey asked him.

And right after she asked him that, he immediately thought of how amazing if would be if Casey was riding him. Now, normally he would have snapped out of it but with her touch, he couldn't come back to reality so he did his best to answer her.

"We play Rocky Creek on Friday," he mumbled.

"Oh," she said.

"Yeah, if we don't beat them we're out of the playoffs,"

She ran both her hands up his sides slowly and he let out a groan that sounded more sexual more than he had planned on and he hoped that Casey ignored it.

His eyes shot open when he felt it. He started thinking of things to make it go away but he knew it was still there and he begged to all the hockey gods that she would just leave right then and there.

"Want me to do your legs?" She asked him as she got off him.

"No, no," he said when he looked at her. "I'm fine,"

"You sure?"

"Yeah, thanks,"

She left his room a little confused and he just laid on his stomach for about ten minutes before he turned over onto his back. He wanted to make sure that Casey wasn't going to come back in. When he turned over, he was still standing at attention. He groaned and threw the blanket over him to cover up and went to sleep.

That night he thought of Casey in ways he had never thought of Casey. And in his mind, she was doing some pretty un-Casey like things. Well, he didn't know if she would do them or not but in his dream, she had no problem with doing them.

Tuesday.

His alarm woke him up and he groaned. He looked down and groaned again. Sure he had woken up with morning wood from time to time but never like this. He walked over to his door and peaked out. He spotted Edwin.

"Psst! Edwin," he hissed.

"What?"

"I need you to get me like, a big cup of ice water,"

"Why?" He asked his brother.

"Just do it, please?"

"Okay," he sighed.

Edwin went down to the kitchen and filled a large cup with ice and water. He turned around and noticed that his family was staring at him.

"What?" He asked before he left, not giving anyone a chance to ask him what was going on.

He walked upstairs and knocked on his brothers door. Derek opened it quickly, snatched the cup and slammed his door.

Derek looked at the cup of ice cold water.

"Okay, don't be a little bitch,"

He took a deep breath and poured the cold water down the front of his boxers and yelped. He started doing breathing exercises and after a few minutes he was fine again. He got dressed and ready for the day.

Thankfully the day went on without any problems and thankfully, Casey didn't offer to give him a rub down.

Wednesday.

He woke up with morning wood again. Thankfully he had woken up before everyone else to hop in a cold shower.

He didn't understand what was going on. He didn't understand why he was having these thoughts and these crazy dreams of Casey. Sure he thought she was drop dead gorgeous, but he had never thought of her in a sexual way so why now? He got ready for school and when he walked out, he bumped into Casey.

"Ow," she snapped.

"Sorry,"

"What?"

" _Sorry_ ," he said, "lets go,"

The ride to school was a bit awkward and annoying. Everything Casey said, he snapped back a response. Clearly he was annoyed with her and all she did was bump into him. When Derek turned off the car, she got out and slammed the door. He rolled his eyes and got out.

Later that night, there was a movie on that Casey really wanted to watch. It turned out that Derek wanted to see it too. In the middle of the movie, Casey got tired of handing the bowl of popcorn back and forth. She also got tired of him stretching and groaning in pain from hockey practice.

"Just sit over here," she said.

He sighed and joined her on the couch. He thought that everything was gonna be fine until the end of the movie. Somehow Casey had got tangled in the throw blanket and tripped. Derek managed to catch her before she face planted but his hand slipped up her shirt as she fell forward. She grabbed onto him and the looked up at him shocked.

"Uh, Derek?"

His hand was almost covering one of her breasts and it was then he realized she wasn't wearing a bra. He quickly helped her steady and removed his hand. He didn't say anything to her before he raced up to his room. He stood against his door. He sighed and opened his door again. She was about to walk into her and he stopped her.

"Hey," he said, making her stop. "Sorry about... you know,"

She saw him glancing back and forth from making eye contact to her breasts and she scoffed.

"Derek, stop looking at them," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

He sighed and closed his eyes in frustration. All he did was go back into his room.

And Thursday, he woke up to the same thing. And he was tired of it.

In the car, Casey kept sighing.

"What do you want Casey?" He asked tiredly.

"I wanna know what is going on with you?" She asked him. "Ever since I helped you out you've been weird,"

"I told you, we play Rocky Creek on Friday,"

"You playing Rocky Creek has nothing to do with you staring at my boobs last night,"

Derek rolled his eyes and shook his head. He pulled into a parking spot and turned off the car.

"This doesn't leave the car," he said. "I always check you out,"

"What?"

"Everyday," he said. "Tits, legs, and ass. But then you go and open your mouth,"

"De-rek!" She snapped.

"See, now if you would have said my name in a different tone," he smirked at her.

She stumbled over her words and he rolled his eyes.

"I'm a guy, Case," he said. "When I see something I like, I look. And trust me, I like what I see,"

He smirked at the sight of her blushing and he got out of the car. He slammed his hand on the roof twice.

"Get out, you're gonna be late!" He said loudly before walking through the parking lot.

XX

He didn't know what he had just done. He didn't know why the hell he would tell her that. He tried his best not to check her out in the classes they had shared but at lunch, he couldn't take it anymore. He needed to talk to Sam.

"I am having a serious problem," he said to his friend. "Everyday, I've been waking up..." he looked around and lowered his voice, "with a boner,"

"Waking up with morning wood is normal," Sam said in the same low voice, "talking about it with me? Not so much,"

"Dude I've had morning wood before, this is nothing like that. Morning wood is like you're kinda ready but you need more stimulation, this is like, five star general,"

"What?"

"Standing at full attention, I don't need anything else to get me ready, I'm ready,"

"Every morning?" Sam asked.

"Every morning,"

"Maybe you need to get it in," Sam said. "I hear Kendra is single again,"

"I'm done hooking up with Kendra," Derek said.

"So, who's your fantasy girl?" Sam asked. Derek glared at him. "Oh, come on,"

Derek rolled his eyes and took a bite of his sandwich.

"Do I know her?" He asked him and Derek nodded. "Who is she?"

Derek swallowed his food and as fate would have it, Casey walked by with Emily. The two of them shared a look and he leaned over to the left a little bit to look at her legs and ass as she walked over to a table. She really did look hot in that frayed jean skirt. Derek was too consumed in checking Casey out that he didn't even see Sam look back to see as well.

"Dude," Sam said, getting his friends attention.

"What?"

"Casey?" Sam whispered and all Derek did was take a drink. "Wow, I didn't know you thought of her like that,"

"That's the thing, I never did until Monday night,"

"What happened Monday night?" Sam asked.

"She rubbed this stuff on my back and my god," he groaned.

"What did it smell like,"

"What the hell does that have anything to do with it?"

"Well, I heard that some smells turn guys on,"

"You were reading one of your sisters magazines again, huh?" Derek asked after giving his friend a curious look.

"Eh, it was the only thing in the bathroom," Sam said flippantly. "Hey,"

"No," Derek said knowing full well what Sam was insinuating.

"Why not? You're obviously having fantasies about her, why not try to live one out?"

"She's a virgin," he hissed.

"You don't know that," Sam said.

"What, did you sleep with her?" Derek asked.

"No," Sam said. "I tried, but she said no,"

"See?"

"Just because she said no doesn't mean she's a virgin," Sam said. "If you don't want to, _you know_ , clear the pipe yourself,"

"Clear the pipe," Derek nodded. "Hmm, why didn't I think of that,"

"Yeah, think of her,"

"You don't think it's weird?" Derek asked. "I mean, it's Casey,"

"And you're a guy, and she's hot," he chuckled.

Casey walked by again and Derek turned to watch her walk away. He turned back to Sam who was still chuckling.

"Yeah, she's hot,"

XX

It was close to eleven at night. He was sure that everyone was asleep, including Casey. He undid his jeans and got comfortable. Right as he slipped his hands into his pants, there was a knock on the door. He groaned and answered his door, not bothering to fix his jeans or anything.

"What?" He demanded.

Her eyes traveled to his unbuttoned jeans that were hanging off his hips and she felt her face get hot.

"I wanna talk to you about earlier," she said.

"Of course you do," he sighed out.

"Why?"

"Why do you always have a question everything? Why can't you just let anything be,"

"You told me earlier today that you pretty much check me out everyday,"

"Your point?" Derek asked.

"I just didn't think you thought of me that way,"

"I don't know what you want me to say," Derek said.

"I guess I'll leave then,"

And it was then he noticed she had on that same semi sheer tank top from the night before. He walked over to her as she turned around and slithered an arm around her waist, pressing her back against him. She gasped and he smirked. He knew she felt how turned on he was against her. At the same time, he slid one hand under her shirt and up her waist to her breasts while the other hand slipped into the front of those skimpy things that she had the audacity to call shorts.

"By the way," he whispered in her ear, "if you wear this shirt in my room again, you won't be leaving until morning,"

He pressed his hand against her center and she out the softest, most intoxicating sound he had ever heard. She pulled his hands away and hurried to her room and shut the door behind him. And Derek, he finally cleared the pipe.

XX

Friday, game day. He was at his locker struggling with his tie and he was just about to give up and he felt a hand on his side. He watched as Casey walked into view and watched as her hands quickly tied his tie perfectly. He hated game day because he had to dress up nice and he hated having to wear a tie. His breath hitched in his throat when he felt her fingertips brush against his neck when she flipped his collar down.

"Thanks," he murmured.

"Sure," she nodded.

She gave him a smile and walked away. He sighed and leaned up against the lockers. What the hell was he going to do? The bell rang and he he slammed his locker shut before he hurried to class. During lunch, he removed his shirt so he wouldn't get it all stained and he sat there and started to eat his lunch.

"Have any fantasies last night?" Sam smirked.

"No,"

"So it worked?"

"I don't know yet," Derek said before he grabbed his drink. "I do know that Casey has this top that's a little too see through for my liking,"

"See through?" Sam questioned.

"Yep,"

"She coming to the game tonight?

"No idea,"

Sam looked around and saw Casey walking with Emily to a table and he stood up.

"Hey, Casey," Sam called.

"What the hell are you doing?" Derek hissed.

He rubbed his forehead in frustration as the two girls showed up at their table.

"Wanna eat lunch with us?" Sam asked.

"Um..." Casey said.

"We'd love too," Emily said, "right?"

"Sure,"

Sam pulled the chair our for Emily and gave Derek a pointed look. Derek rolled his eyes and did the same for Casey. She sat down next to Derek and she examined him.

"So," Sam said, bringing Casey to his attention. "You two coming to the game tonight?"

"I wanna go, but Casey doesn't want too," Emily said.

"Derek says I'm bad luck," Casey said.

"Derek is stupid," Sam said.

"Derek is right here," Derek snapped.

"Whatever," Sam said, "you guys should come,"

After school Derek asked his coach if he could get an hour on the ice by himself so he could clear his head before the game. He didn't have problems with jitters anymore but he still wanted to have a clear head. He slipped his skates on and walked onto the ice with a hockey puck and his stick. He untucked his dress shirt and rolled up the sleeves. He left his tie on the bench with his bag and finally unbuttoned the first three buttons of that stupid shirt. He tossed it on the ice and began to skate.

He loved the sound of his blades on the ice, it always relaxed him. He loved it in the winter when he could go skate outside in the middle of the night. He scooped the puck up onto the blade of his hockey stick and started to bounce the puck, twisting his arm to flip his hockey stick in a back and forth motion. He caught the puck on either side of the blade of his stick a few times before he dropped it on the ice and shot it into the net. He did that a few more times before he did a few laps around the rink.

After his hour was up, he went home. When he got up the stairs, he bumped into Casey. She was just in a towel and soaking wet. His eyes traveled up and down her body and then quickly rushed to his room. He shut his door behind him and groaned behind the door.

XX

They won the game and there was a victory party at Ralph's house. And around midnight, Casey stumbled in with a drunk Derek.

"Whoa, I'm not doin' those," he said when he saw the staircase.

"Derek, we can't stay down here," she hissed at him.

"You looked really hot tonight," he said to her.

"Shut up,"

She helped him up the stairs and tried her best to keep him quiet. Their parents would be pissed if they found out. She finally got him to his room and she sat him down on his bed. He removed his jacket and fell back on his bed. He kicked off his shoes and then took off his shirt. He didn't notice that she had walked out of his room to get him water and when she came back in, he just looked at her.

"What did I say about that shirt?" He asked her.

"Just take the water and go to bed,"

He snatched the water from her hand and pulled her by her arm to bring her closer to him. He stood up and leaned down and kissed her. His hands went to her waist and under that damn shirt. And suddenly, that drunk feeling he had, being unsteady with both feet on the ground, feeling light headed and heavy at the same time, it all went away. Like kissing her sobered him up completely.

"Derek," she murmured between kissed.

"I told you not to wear that shirt in here,"

The night progressed from there after he fell on his bed with her.

XX

The next morning, he woke up to his head pounding. He looked at the time and groaned. He should have never drank that much knowing he had to work that day. And he was cutting it close. He noticed something was left for him for his head and he took it quickly. He got dressed for work knowing fully well what had happened the night before.

What happens now? What was he going to do about this and was he completely fucked now? Did he cross a line? He knew that it was too late to go back now. Sure when he touched her he could have left it at that but once he heard that beautiful moan leave her lips it took everything in him not to do something about it right at that moment.

He decided to think about it later. He had to get to work and he wasn't looking forward to it at all.

At around four, Casey had walked in with Emily and they were laughing.

"Ladies," Derek smirked.

"Hey, Derek, I'm surprised you're still alive," Emily said.

"The usual?" He asked.

"Sounds good," Emily said.

Derek walked behind the counter and started the hot water. He grabbed two blueberry muffins and set them on a plate. He looked up from the register after entering in their order and noticed that Casey was standing there.

"I can still use the car tonight right?"

"Yeah," he said, "I'm not doing anything tonight,"

"I didn't think you would be doing anything, not after last night,"

"Case," he sighed. "Last night-"

"It's okay," she said. "Let me know when you get home,"

He sighed and got their drinks ready. He set everything at their table silently along with the car keys. He even paid for their bill too. When they decided to leave Casey tried to give the keys back and he told her that he would just walk home as he brushed past her.

She didn't come home til eleven that night and he waited up for her to grab the keys. She knocked on his door before she walked in and dropped the keys on his desk and walked out. He sighed and walked to her room. He didn't bother knocking either. But then again, he never knocked on her door. She had just slipped into that damn tank top and she turned around when she heard her door close.

"Get out,"

"No shorts?" He asked.

She glared at him as she tied her hair up into a bun. How she got all that hair in one elastic was something he would never be able to figure out.

"What do you want, Derek?"

"You," he said. "But you probably don't believe me,"

"No, I don't now can you leave?"

"Not until I explain myself,"

"Fine," she said.

He grabbed her desk chair and rolled it over to her bed and she sat down, legs crossed and waited. He straddled her chair and looked at her.

"I don't want you to think that you're just some notch on my belt or whatever, because that's so not the case here,"

"Really,"

"Really," he confirmed.

There was no smirk in his features whatsoever so she actually believed him for once.

"And what I wanted to tell you when I saw you at work today was that last night? I was completely aware of what was going on and I want you to know that last night was great and I don't regret a damn thing,"

He sighed and stood up from her chair. He walked over to her and she looked up at him. He rested his hands on either side of her body on the bed and placed his lips on hers in a gentle kiss. She watched him leave and she sat there. She crept into his room an hour later. He was laying in bed flipping through a magazine and he looked over to her when he heard his door open and shut. He sat up and looked at her curiously. She straddled him and removed her shirt. He smirked at her and then kissed her.

He didn't really have to worry about problems in the morning anymore.


	5. Naked

**NAKED**

 **Location & Time: London, Ontario, Grade 11 & Queens**

 **All the times Derek and Casey saw each other naked.**

The first time she saw him naked it was purely on accident.

She didn't know he was even home that day and he had just stepped out of the shower when she walked in to use the bathroom herself.

"Casey!" He shouted at her, grabbing a towel to cover himself up.

They were 16. They avoided each other for the rest of the day.

The first time he saw her naked – he would tell you it was an accident – he did his normal thing, enter without knocking, and she was in the middle of changing. She screamed at him and threw a hairbrush at him. All he did was laugh and walk back to his room.

x

The second time she saw him naked was also an accident.

It was their first year of university and she was a nervous wreck. She rushed over to his dorm because he didn't answer her call. His room mate let her in and out of habit, she walked into his room as he was changing.

"Oh," she said as he grabbed something to cover himself up.

"What," he snapped.

"I'll wait outside," she stammered.

"Yeah, you do that,"

She flashed him an uncomfortable smile and walked out of his room.

The second time he had seen her naked was really an accident – well he didn't think she would be completely topless but still an accident on his account. He had seen her at a party and someone had spilled a drink on her shirt. He knew she wasn't wearing a bra because of how low it was cut too. He had followed her up the stairs after she had disappeared to check on her and out of habit, he walked into the bathroom.

Her shirt was off as she was rinsing it off in the sink and she gasped at the sight of him. Her cheeks burned red and she covered herself with her arms. He removed the white cotton vest he had on as well as the black tee and handed it to her. Her cheeks were red as she grabbed the shirt from him and slipped it over her body.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

He went back to the party only in the white cotton vest.

x

The third time she saw him naked, she saw a bunch of other people naked too. In fact, almost the entire party was naked. She showed up with her room mate Kenzi and needless to say, Casey was blushing the entire time.

"Oh, Casey, relax," Kenzi said, taking off her shirt. "Live a little,"

"Trust me when I say she doesn't," Derek said from the pool. "Nice rack,"

"Thanks," Kenzi said.

"Derek, no," Casey said.

"I know, room mates are off limits, blah, blah, blah," he said. He suddenly got out of the pool and smirked when she looked away. "You comin' in or what?"

"Uh," she said, looking him up and down quickly, "no,"

"Kenzi?" He asked.

"Hell yeah," she said.

Later that night, Derek would discover that Casey had nothing under her white tank top when he threw her in the pool. He would also discover that she had her nipples pierced and noted that she must had recently got them done. And he was suddenly thankful he had a towel wrapped around him.

The third time he had seen her naked was at an actual pool party where a bathing suit was a choice. She had gone with Kenzi and they were both in the pool just talking. Derek had spotted them and swam over to them. He wrapped his arm around her and when they were too distracted in their conversation, she screamed and covered herself up. But of course he saw her chest in all it's glory again.

"Dalton!" He snapped as Dalton was tying Casey's top around his head.

"Show me your boobies!" He shouted, and then laughed.

"You're such a jerk!" She yelled at him, moving closer to Derek to hide, pressing her chest into his.

"Dalton, hand it over," Derek said.

"Come on, man, all she's gotta do is flash 'em," he told him.

"Dalton," Derek snapped.

Dalton rolled his eyes and yanked the small bikini top off his head.

"You guys are no fun,"

After Derek grabbed her top and handed it back to her, he walked her back to the side of the pool and locked her in with his arms so no one could see. She tied the top strings and then turned so Derek could tie the ones in the back.

x

The forth time she had seen him naked was at another party. It was during her second year and she was starting to come out of her shell. She had attended a pajama party and Kenzi had talked her into something a little more sexy. Kenzi has something on that was totally revealing while Casey just had on a black lacy get up. Little boy shorts and a matching lace top that showed her stomach. It wasn't really a bra but it also wasn't a tank top either. It was she sexiest thing she owned and felt comfortable in it. She wore black heels to match.

She walked into the party and Kenzi was immediately pulled over by some random guy and Casey sighed. She spotted Derek next to a keg and walked over to him. He was in a pair of boxers and some slip on Vans. If he had a drink in his hand he would have dropped it.

"Damn,"

"What?" She asked, "is it bad?"

"No, it's just, wow," he said, "I don't think I've seen you in anything this revealing before, ever,"

"I don't look like a slut do I?" She asked.

"No," he smirked, totally checking her out.

"Derek, stop," she blushed.

"You're hot," he smiled.

"Der-ek!" She snapped. "You're drunk,"

He stepped closer to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her to him. He placed her hand on her ass and leaned in close to her ear.

"I'm completely sober and completely aware of how sexy you are," he whispered in her ear.

"Ten minutes til the ring toss!" A voice bellowed out.

"Ring toss?"

"Oh yeah, I'm glad you're here because you're my partner," he nodded. "Jake! This is Casey, and if you touch her ass, I break your face,"

"Cock block," Jake said, "you are so fuckin' hot dude," he looked Casey up and down and Derek glared at him. "Fine! She's off limits,"

"I'll see you in about five minutes," he smirked.

And the next thing she knew she was sitting on Jake's shoulders with a handful of green plastic rings. Kenzi had yellow one and there were two other girls with two more colors. There were four guys with bare ass showing to everyone and one more guy stepped in the middle.

"Gentlemen," he said, "you may turn,"

And when they turned, everyone cheered while Casey let out a shocked yelp and covered her mouth. She looked at Kenzi who was just as shocked.

"Okay, okay, here's how it's gonna go, ladies? You have five minutes to make as many rings as you can on your partner. Each partner has a counter to keep track of how many rings are made," he said. "let the penis games begin!" And the crowd cheered.

"Casey, baby, focus," Derek said to her, pointing down to his crotch. "Don't look at me,"

He smirked and she nodded.

The game was rather silly, playing ring toss on a dick? Everyone got a kick out of it. She would never admit to having fun doing _that_. After five minutes, the count was up. And of course, Derek won. After he hopped off the counter and Jake allowed Casey off his shoulders, she tried her best to keep eye contact with him since he hadn't put his boxers back on yet.

"So," she said, "what did you win?"

"The knowledge that I have the bigger dick,"

"Couldn't you have just used a ruler?" Casey asked.

"That's no fun,"

"Derek," Kenzi greeted, obviously looking at his... manhood, and then back at him, "congratulations,"

"Oh, thanks," he smirked. "I'm gonna go get a beer, next game starts in ten,"

Before he left he gave Casey a quick, playful slap on her ass and she yelped.

"I'll find you in a minute," he smirked.

And he walked off, still without his boxers and Kenzi gaped at Casey.

"Oh, my god, _Derek_ ," she said. "Did you know he was so..."

"No, he used to brag in high school but I didn't know,"

"Is he still off limits?" Kenzi asked.

"Yes,"

Kenzi pouted and rolled her eyes.

The forth time he had seen her naked, she finally got her courage – liquid that is – and was spotted skinny dipping at another pool party. He was informed by his room mate and he hurried over leaving a very pissed off date behind. He walked outside to the pool and saw Casey and her own room mate trying to get her out of the pool. Kenzi was in her bikini, arguing with a very drunk and very naked Casey.

"Seriously, get out of the pool!" She yelled at her.

"No!" Casey snapped back, "I'm living!"

"Casey this isn't what we meant by living," Jake said to her, "look, Derek is on his way-"

"Derek's here," Derek said. "Casey, get out of the pool,"

"No," she whined. "You come in with me,"

He sighed and looked at Kenzi as he stepped out of his shoes. He took his shirt off, handed her his phone and wallet.

"Meet me by the steps,"

He dropped into the pool and Casey made her way over to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and she smiled.

"Hi,"

"Hey," he smirked, "you okay?"

"Oh yeah, I'm living!" She laughed.

"How about we get out?" He suggested.

"No, no, I wanna stay in and you should stay with me,"

He felt her legs wrap around his waist and it took everything in his power not to just fuck her in the pool in front of everyone.

"Or," he smirked, "we get out of the pool and we'll hang out in your room tonight,"

"Oh we can watch movies!" She giggled, suddenly getting excited.

He knew they weren't going to be watching movies. By the time she would get into bed, he knew she would pass out.

"Yeah," he shook his head with mock excitement.

She was too drunk to realize that her ass was sitting on the steps to the pool and Kenzi had already started to put the shirt over her.

He stayed with her that night in case she got sick and thankfully she didn't. He woke up before her that morning and his shirt was all the way up, exposing her entire body to him. As much as he wanted to touch her, he didn't. All he did was gently pull the fabric over her breasts, and pull her blanket up. When she woke up, she had a mini freak out but calmed down after he told her that he just stayed with her only to freak out more when she realized that she was completely naked in front of a bunch of people.

x

Her third year it turned into being a regular thing, walking in on Derek naked and what not. He still continued to waltz into her room without knocking and see her in the middle of changing, the normal. She had been to numerous parties with him and he would always flirt with her but he would never do anything about it. One night she was feeling a little... brave... she put on that black lace pajama set and threw her red trench coat on. After stepping into a pair of heels, she walked over to Derek's dorm. She wasn't sure what she as going to do when she got there so she just decided to wing it. Except this time, she only felt him through his gym shorts.

She knocked on the door and she was happy that it was Derek that answered the door.

"Hey," he smirked. "What's with the coat,"

"Is Jake here?"

"No, he's gone for the next four hours,"

"Good," she smirked, walking past him.

He shut the door and when he turned around, she was walking to his room. He followed her and gave her a curious smirk.

"As much as this is oddly turning me on, what-"

He lost his words when she untied the belt of her coat and revealed her body to him. Without a second thought he walked over to her and kissed her. She slipped her coat off and he walked them back to her bed. Hands roaming where they could, she flipped them over and she sat up. She slowly started to peel that little lacy shirt off and he sat up and nipped the underside of her breasts. That act alone made her involuntarily grind her hips and they both groaned. She could feel him on her own crotch and it was painfully arousing for her. She _almost_ got it all the way off and he _almost_ slipped his hand into the front of her lace panties, if it hadn't been for Jake.

"Yo, D," he shouted before walking into his room. "Oh, shit,"

Derek grabbed a shirt that he had mindlessly thrown before she had even got there and tried to cover up her backside at least but she was already embarrassed enough.

"Jake!"

But Jake raced out of his dorm. And Casey quickly covered up and put her coat back on. Much to Derek's dismay, she left.

He hated his room mate.

And finally, to end all random naked walk ins. It had been weeks since he had heard from her. He knew that she was embarrassed but aside from that, he couldn't get her off his mind. He decided to go to her dorm and talk to her about it. He knocked on the door and Kenzi opened up with an over night bag on her shoulder.

"Oh, hey Derek. I almost didn't recognize you with clothes on," she smiled.

"Yeah, is Casey here?"

"No, she's not home yet," Kenzi said, "you can wait if you want,"

"Thanks, where are you going?"

"It's my parents anniversary party this weekend, thirty years of being married,"

"Have fun," he said to her as she walked away.

He walked in and looked around. He smirked at how clean it was and he went into her room. He looked around and smirked at one of the pictures she had pinned to a board. It was spring break from the year before. Derek Casey and a group of their friends decided to go to Florida. Her hair was up and she was in a purple bikini and he was just in a pair of black shorts. Their skin had been kissed by the sun all day and he remembered they were drunk. She was right up against his side, smiling, with his arm around her waist. He sighed and decided to get comfortable on her bad. He grabbed one of her novels and started reading.

A few hours later, he was woken up. He didn't even know that he had fallen asleep.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him.

Damn, he missed her change.

"I needed to talk to you," he said, voice thick with sleep.

"A phone works too,"

"Yeah, they would work if you answered my calls,"

"Derek-"

"I already pounded Jake for walking in," Derek said.

"I should have never done that," she said.

"See, the thing is, I think you should," he said, "I'm getting tired of seeing each other naked and not doing anything about it,"

"It's not like I planned it," she scoffed.

"Even still," he said, "attention needs to be paid,"

He walked over to her and kissed her.

XX

The next morning, she woke up alone. She groaned and fell back against her pillow. She looked up when the door opened and she looked at Derek. He was holding two coffees and a paper bag. He gave her a small smile and handed her a cup.

"So..." she said after grabbing her cup from him. "Are the naked encounters done?"

"Not by a long shot," he smirked before kissing her again.


	6. March Break

**So, this fic is a little rating is M. Its long shot, thought it was fun to write. Also taking contributions and would be more than happy to edit and give credit where credit is due.**

* * *

 **MARCH BREAK**

 **Location & Time: Somewhere away from home, Grade 12**

Derek was sitting on the couch, aimlessly flipping channels on the TV. He was currently living in Toronto for grade twelve. And he didn't particularly care much to be there because his mom was like a prison guard, still loosened the chains a bit, but still a prison guard. But then again, he never thought that he would actually have to leave his childhood home either. He never thought that he would be in predicament he was in until it was too late. His mom was pissed at him too but surprisingly she managed to become more understanding of it all. Though, he didn't realize that everyone would make a huge deal like they did. Hell, he thought they were being smart too. Protection, making sure everyone was gone so it was safe to do so, the whole nine.

They had almost been caught many times before this but they always made it seem like nothing was going on. They would either hear the car door shut or the front door open and they were always upstairs so they had plenty of time to get back into their normal routine. But the one time they let their guard down they were in the living room and got caught. Not in the actual act of having sex, but when Nora caught her daughter straddling her step son in nothing but a bra and shorts on, it sent her over the edge.

" _I can't believe how irresponsible – no how stupid you are," George said. "I had my worries but with all the fighting you two had done I thought I didn't_ have _to worry,"_

" _How long?" Nora asked._

" _All summer," Derek said. "Look, it's not like we planned on it,"_

" _Casey do you have anything to say for yourself?" Nora asked her._

" _I'm sorry,"_

" _For doing this or getting caught," Her mother asked._

" _No," she said. "I'm sorry you found out this way. It was still new, we didn't know it was gonna get this far. And it's not like we weren't going to tell you, we just weren't ready to tell you yet because we knew this would happen and you both would act like this!"_

" _Go to your room," Nora said._

" _Gladly," she snapped. "I can't bare to be around you for another minute,"_

" _We'll discuss your punishment later," Nora said when she got to the stairs._

" _I'm being punished for being in love with someone?"_

 _Derek turned around on the couch and shot her a look. That probably wasn't the way she wanted to tell him that she loved him but given the situation, he didn't mind. She gave him a small smile before she looked back at her mother._

" _Don't try to fool me, you aren't in love with Derek,"_

" _How would you know? You married George after a few months, at least Derek and I aren't going out and getting hitched on a whim. But I thought you of all people would understand,"_

 _Derek turned back around when Casey walked to her room. He could help but smirk at the knowledge that Casey loved him._

" _Wipe that damn smirk off your face," George snapped. Derek's eyes shot up at his dad and sighed._

" _So what are you gonna do dad? Move me downstairs?"_

" _I can't even look at you right now," he said._

" _The feeling is mutual, for the both of you,"_

 _Derek stood from the couch and walked up to his room and slammed the door. He grabbed a bag and started throwing clothes into it and called his friend Sam asking if he could stay there for a few days and that he would explain everything when he got there. After he packed a bag he walked downstairs but was stopped when he got to the door. He sighed and he put on his jacket to look at his dad._

" _Just where do you think you're going?" George demanded._

" _You don't wanna look at me, thought I'd leave for a few days,"_

" _I don't think so,"_

" _Why should I stay here?" He asked his dad. "It would just be better if I left for a for a few days,"_

" _You leaving for a few days isn't going to change anything,"_

" _I'd rather not have to deal with nasty glares from you and Nora," Derek said._

" _Well with how we found out-"_

" _We were gonna tell you," Derek snapped._

" _Oh, I'm sure,"_

" _This is why you need to let me go," Derek said. "Nothing I say is gonna make anything better right now,"_

" _Derek-"_

" _Just let me go!"_

 _Suddenly Derek felt someone staring at them and he turned to see it was Casey. As much as he knew his dad would be pissed, what more damage could they possibly do? He walked over to her and pulled her into a tight embrace and brought his lips down to her ear._

" _I love you, too,"_

 _He didn't care. He kissed her in front of their parents, pouring everything he could into that kiss. He stepped away, grabbed his bag and left._

 _XX_

 _After a total of six days, Derek had come back into the madness. When he opened the door, his Dad, Nora and Casey were all in the living room waiting for him. He supposed that Casey had told him that he was coming home. He set his bag down and removed his jacket._

" _Sit down," George said._

 _Derek sat down and waited._

" _We've decided on a course of action with this and have decided that-"_

" _Casey, you're going to New York with your dad," Nora said._

" _What?!" Casey demanded. "Mom,"_

" _It's final," Nora said._

" _No, it's not," George said. "I've already spoken to Abby,"_

" _George I think it's best if Casey is with her dad right now," his wife reasoned. "Casey has been waiting to go to New York for ages,"_

" _And Abby wants to have time with Derek before he leaves for university,"_

" _I'll go to Toronto," Derek spoke up._

" _Derek, this is your home," Nora said._

" _It's also Casey's and she's already been uprooted once,"_

" _Are you sure?" George asked._

" _I'll go finish packing," Derek said._

 _He walked upstairs to gather up the rest of his belongings. While he was in his room, he made all the necessary calls he needed to make, friends, work and he even received a call from his mother. He knew she wasn't going to bitch him out over the phone too. He was allowed to stay one more night there and he wanted to say good bye to Casey properly so he climbed out his window and walked over to her. He tapped on the glass lightly. It was really late so he knew no one else would be awake. He saw her peak out of the window and open it. He climbed in and kissed her right away._

" _What am I gonna do without you here," she asked him._

" _I'm only gonna be two hours away," he said._

" _I just didn't think that this would actually happen,"_

" _I know, I know,"_

 _He cupped her face and wiped the tears with his thumbs and kissed her forehead._

" _Sam said we could use his place tonight while they're out of town,"_

" _Derek, we're already on lock down," she reminded him._

" _I don't think there's anymore damage we can do,"_

 _She knew he had a point. What is the worst that can happen other than being grounded longer than she was? She agreed and they spent one last amazing night together. But it didn't last long when she received a slap in the face from her mother when she climbed back through her window._

He sat there and checked his phone. It was almost time to call Casey. He sighed and looked at the picture of her on his lock screen. Damn, did he miss her.

" _Derek, how could you let this happen?" Abby asked him._

" _You want me to be honest or you want me to come up with some pathetic excuse," Derek asked while he was unpacking his new room. "Because I didn't mean for this to happen, it just did,"_

" _And clearly you weren't thinking about the consequences,"_

" _I was, mom," Derek said. "We knew it would be bad but we didn't think that one of us would have to leave,"_

" _You chose to come here,"_

" _You're right," he said._

" _This was a huge sacrifice," she said to him as she sat down on his bed._

" _That's what you do when you love someone," Derek sighed. "Besides, Casey had already given up enough,"_

" _Your father thinks this is a phase and the distance will make it end," Abby said._

" _A phase?" Derek asked. "D-Rock was a phase,"_

" _Derek-"_

" _No, mom, I'm not gonna grow out of this," Derek said. "I've never wanted to be better before in my life until Casey and I've never felt like this before with anyone,"_

 _Derek shoved more clothes into a dresser._

" _Can I just be alone right now? It's been a long day,"_

" _Sure," his mom nodded._

He checked his phone again and called Casey. He had to get her a new phone after Nora caught her talking to Derek on it. He didn't think he had the right to take it from her since he paid for the two of them to have a phone in the first place. He had it sent to Sam's house and he just gave it to her the next day.

Over the last six months Casey had managed to convince her mom that she and Derek were no longer an item and she actually believed the lie. His mom ended up not having a problem with it and was working on convincing his dad the same. He scrolled through his contacts and tapped on Casey's name. It was Friday and he couldn't wait for March break.

"Do you know my work schedule or what?" She asked when she answered the phone.

"I'm supposed to," he chuckled. "How was work?"

"Slow,"

"Can you still come?" Derek asked.

"Yes," Casey said. "I had to do a lot of convincing but my mom said yes,"

"Good,"

"Will your new friends like me?" She asked him.

"They'll love you," Derek confirmed. "I just hope Jay and Sam get along,"

"I'm sure they will," she said. "I can't wait to see you,"

"I can't wait either," he said. "Phone sex is only doing so much for me,"

"Der-ek," she laughed. "Don't be a perve,"

All he did was laugh.

"Well, I'm home now, I'll call you when I get in my room,"

"Video," he smirked. "And before you change,"

"I'll think about it,"

"I love you,"

"I love you, too,"

She ended the call and he walked to his room. While he started up his laptop, he changed into shorts and waited for the chime from the speakers. While he waited, his mind drifted back to when he figured it all started. He could never really pin point when it did either.

 _Kendra's end of the year party. They both went but not together and the guy that Casey went with ended up being a jerk and pretty much blew her off for someone who was willing to hook up. Derek ended up leaving early with Casey because he saw that she wanted to leave. On the way home he didn't know why but he thought that she looked amazing. She wasn't wearing anything new either, it was something that he had already seen her in. As a thank you, she kissed the corner of his mouth leaving him surprised by her action._

 _A few weeks later, Emily had invited Derek, Casey, Sam and Ralph over to BBQ and swim. When Derek saw her come outside he was taken aback by her. He had never seen her in such a small bikini before. He watched her walk by him and Sam and he was thankful for wearing sunglasses otherwise it would have been completely obvious he was checking her out._

 _They all felt like kids in the pool together, splashing and wrestling with each other and it was just a fun day all together._

 _After a day of being kissed by the sun, it was just Derek and Casey sitting on the edge of the pool talking._

" _Why is this the first time I'm seeing you like this?"_

" _I can't really waltz around the house like this in front of Edwin," she said._

" _But you can waltz around in front of me like this?" He asked. "I'm still a guy,"_

" _And I'm sure I'm still hideous," she said._

" _Hmm,"_

 _He slid into the pool and dunked his head. Was he actually thinking that Casey was hot? When he came back up for air, he noticed that Casey wasn't there. He looked around and saw that she had walked in from the shallow end. He swam towards her._

" _Don't you splash me," she warned._

" _You're already wet," he smirked._

" _So?"_

 _He chuckled and shook his head. She stood against the wall and he stood in front of her. He tried. He tried his best to ignore that voice in his head screaming at him to just do it already. He gave in._

" _Can I try something?" He asked her. "You have to promise not to freak out,"_

" _Okay?"_

" _Promise,"_

" _I promise not to freak out," she said with an eye roll._

 _He moved closer to her. He grabbed her waist and pulled her to him_

" _Derek,"_

" _I just need to see something," he said._

 _He cautiously placed his lips on hers and kissed her. He looked down at her curiously and she pulled his head down and kissed him. His hands went to her butt and made her legs wrap around his waist and walked them flush to the wall. It was getting really intense and he knew Casey must have realized it because she stopped him._

" _Wait," she said, breathlessly. "We can't to this here,"_

" _Why not?"_

" _We're in Emily's pool,"_

" _Then lets go home," he smirked against her lips."No one is there,"_

 _She nodded after giving him a quick kiss. They both got out of the pool and went home. It wasn't until after they found out that Sam owed Emily fifty and Ralph owed her twenty because they lost a bet for when Derek was finally make his move. And they also found out after that their friends were watching through a window._

 _They walked through the door and soon as it was shut, Derek was all over her. They somehow managed to make it up the stairs and into his room without hurting themselves. Derek was really thankful that the house was empty for the week too so there would be plenty of Casey time. By the time all their clothes were shed she had informed him that she was a virgin and to be easy on her. He tried his best to take it slow with her and he didn't actually do anything until she told him to._

 _That night would be burned into his memory forever._

The chime from his speakers brought him out of his thoughts. He walked over to his laptop and answered the video call from Casey.

"You were supposed to wait," he said.

She was already in her pajamas which was just one of his shirts she stole from him long before the two of them got together. She had cut the neck lower so it would drape off one shoulder and turned it into a very short crop top. When she stretched her arms up, you could see the bottom of her breasts.

"You'll live," she smiled at him.

"Is everyone asleep?"

"Sound," she said.

He looked forward to video calls with Casey because he didn't get to see her much. They tried to get together once a month and over the six months, he had only seen her four times and it was only for the night. But they seemed to be keeping their relationship strong.

XX

"Mom," Derek said.

"I know, I know, only if it's an emergency," she said. "Call me when you get there,"

"I will,"

"Be safe,"

"Don't worry, Miss. Abby," Derek's new friend Jay said, "we'll be fine,"

"Keep my son out of trouble, Jason,"

"Yes, ma'am,"

Abby gave her son a hug and kissed his cheek.

"Love you,"

"Love you too, mom," Derek said. "I'll call you,"

"Everyday,"

"Everyday,"

And meanwhile in London, Casey was saying a similar goodbye to her mom.

"Mom, I promise I'll call, and be safe, and everything else,"

"Ms. M. the cabin is safe, and it's not secluded at all. Plus my dad had already gone over the safety protocol with me and even informed the station out there that we'll be out there,"

"Did your dad check the car Emily?" Nora asked.

"Yes he did. We have plenty of money and there's an extra full gas can in the back of the truck," Emily said. "We'll be fine,"

"Alright," Nora said.

"Mom," Casey said. "You have everyone's numbers, the station, Mr. Richards, I'll be fine,"

"Okay, I love you, and call me when you get there, and everyday,"

"I will," she said. "I love you, too,"

Casey got into Emily's truck and they drove off.

"Are you excited?" Emily asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Yeah?" Sam asked. "How is it that I'm more excited to see my best friend than you are to see your boyfriend?"

"Okay, I'm to the moon," Casey gushed.

"Well you and Derek can have the master because it's upstairs and we wont have to deal with your love music. There's a room with two beds and I figured it'd be cool if you bunked with me Emily since Derek's friend is bring his girlfriend,"

"That's fine," Emily said. "The further away from the love music the better,"

"Emily!"

"I'm only teasing," she smiled. "This is gonna be a fun week,"

"Do you think that your mom knows that Derek is gonna be there?" Sam asked leaning over the middle of the front seat.

"He said his mom knows and I don't think she would tell George. But Abby has been a lot more understanding about this lately,"

"If Casey's mom knew, she wouldn't be here Sam," Emily said.

"Too bad Ralph couldn't come," he said. "We should just go kidnap him,"

Emily chuckled and rolled her eyes. Two hours later, they arrived at the cabin. Sam unlocked the door and opened all the windows to get some fresh air in. They all unloaded the truck and Casey went up to the master room and started unpacking her stuff for the week. She heard a car honk and hurried down the stairs. She froze when she saw him standing at the vehicle greeting his old friends and introducing his new ones. He turned and saw her. A slow smile grew on his face and he took his sunglasses off. She smiled and ran towards him. He caught her in a tight hug and spun around making her giggle. It was music to his ears. He set her back on her feet and gave her a soft kiss.

"God, I've missed you," he whispered to her.

All she did was smile up and him and gave him another kiss.

"Ahem," Jay said. "As sweet as this all is,"

"Sorry," Derek said. "this is Casey,"

"I'm Jay, and this is Kellie," Derek's friend said. "It's nice to finally meet you,"

"Nice to meet you guys,"

"Well," Sam said, "come on in, I'll show you where you're staying,"

They all followed Sam into the cabin except for Derek and Casey. He just wanted to hold her in his arms a little longer.

"Did you bring that shirt?" He asked with a smirk.

"What would a week with you be without it?"

He kissed her once more before he grabbed her hand and walked into the cabin with his bag in the other.

"Hey," Sam said, "we were thinking about starting up the grill,"

"I just drove for three and a half hours, my ass needs a break," Jay said.

"I've been driving for two," Emily said. "I'm out,"

"We'll go," Derek said.

"What are we getting?" Casey asked.

Sam handed her a list and bid their farewell. They came back about thirty minutes later and brought in the groceries. After putting everything away, they all decided to just hang out on the deck. Casey excused herself to change into something more comfortable and Derek followed her. When he got up to their room, he shut the door and his arm slithered around her waist.

"Derek,"

"What?"

"We have friends downstairs," she reminded him.

"I'm pretty sure they'll understand if we take thirty minutes to ourselves," he smirked.

She turned around and looked at him.

"I don't want the first time in two months to be a quickie," she said.

"I don't plan on it being quick," he said. He placed a soft kiss on her neck and she sighed.

"You can wait a few more hours," she said.

His head fell on her shoulder and she laughed. He looked back up at her and she kissed him.

"Don't worry, it'll be time before you know it,"

She lied. Those next few hours seemed like it took forever. After cleaning up, they all went inside and into their rooms. Sam made sure all the doors and windows were closed and locked before he went to crash himself. Casey was in the bathroom washing her face while Derek pulled the blanket back for them. She was wearing that shirt he loved on her so much and a pair of black lace boy shorts. He walked over to her and pulled her to him. He needed to feel her skin against his. They walked over to the bed, lips still attached. Casey sat down and started to slide back so Derek could get on top of her.

And like he stated before, he didn't plan on being quick. Every touch, kiss and movement he made, he tried to let Casey know how much he missed her, needed her, wanted her and loved her.

The next morning, he thought that he was alone until he saw her come back from the bathroom. He was laying on his back when she climbed on top of him.

"Morning," she said.

" _Good_ morning," he smirked.

"I love not having to worry about leaving right away,"

"Then why are you dressed?"

"We can't stay in here all day,"

"Says who?" He asked her.

"Says me because I'm getting in the shower,"

She rolled off him and got out of bed. She took her shirt off in front of him and he smirked. He waited til he heard the water turn on before he joined her.

"Der-ek!" she laughed.

"Conserve water," he smirked before he kissed her.

They had had sex in the shower before so it wasn't anything new to them. Hell, they had to get creative and managed to have sex in the back seat of the prince. That's how Casey learned to be on top. But by this time he learned how to get her at a certain angle so she could have an orgasm but most of the time in the standing position they both would explode at the same time. And that's what happened this time.

They finished up with their shower, got dressed and joined their friends.

"Have a good night?" Jay asked knowingly.

"Jay, shut up," Derek said.

Jay chuckled and took a bite of his cereal.

"Good morning," Emily said. "Is there coffee?"

"It's brewing right now," Casey said.

"Derek, go jump on your friend and wake him up," Emily said.

"This I gotta see," Jay said.

Derek smiled and walked down the hall to where Sam was. Emily grabbed her camera and followed with Jay and Casey. Derek crept to the bed and climbed in next to Sam.

"Derek," Emily whispered and pointed to the camera.

Derek made a funny face with his tongue out and after the picture was taken he began to cuddle up next to his best friend. Emily got the timing just right when Sam woke up with a startled scream at the sight of Derek that close to him.

"I fucking hate you," Sam shouted.

"Morning Sleeping Beauty, it's time to get up," Derek smiled.

Sam pushed Derek away and all Derek did was laugh.

"You all suck," Sam muttered as he got out of bed.

They all went into the kitchen for breakfast and suddenly Derek's phone rang. His mom was calling.

"Shit," he said. "Casey did you call your mom?"

"Yeah,"

He sighed, "I'll be right back,"

He stepped outside and answered the call.

"Mom, I'm sorry,"

"Derek, I asked you to call me when you got there,"

"I know, I just got caught up with seeing Sam and Emily again, and Casey,"

"I understand, but I need you to keep in touch with me," she said.

"I know, and I'm sorry,"

"It won't happen again," she stated. He noticed it wasn't a question.

"It won't happen again,"

"Did Casey call her mom?" Abby asked.

"She said she did,"

"Okay, I'll hear from you tomorrow," again, not another question.

"I will call you tomorrow,"

"Have fun,"

He ended the call right as Casey stepped out to call her mom. He gave her some privacy and walked back inside.

XX

The second day was pretty chill. They enjoyed their time in the lake and roasted marshmallows over the fire. They all shared their most embarrassing stories and Casey had the most out of all of them.

He needed this. He needed to be with all his friends and he loved the fact that his old friends and new friends were getting a long. And just the thought of school being over was getting him excited too. To have most of the Summer with Casey and then possibly university together? They had agreed to apply at the same ones in hope of going together too. He could only imagine how it would be to be able to see her everyday again and just about whenever he wanted. He flirted with that idea all the time. He really thought that this would be the best week of his life so far. Until the third day.

It was raining when they all woke up and by the looks of it, it had been raining for a while.

"Well, this is great," Jay said. "How the hell am I supposed to get on the jet ski if it's raining,"

"I'm sure we can find something to do inside," Kellie said.

"You wanna go back to the room or...?"

"Shut up," she said. "it's actually pretty cold,"

"Hey," Sam made his presence known, "I just got a call from my dads friend out here and he said a lot of people are clearing out early because of the rain. We can stay but there might not be much to do,"

"Does it usually rain a lot out here?" Jay asked.

"Sometimes," Sam said.

"Maybe we should leave early," Kellie said.

"Derek has been waiting for this week for months," Jay reminded her. "We can't do that to him,"

"You'd never see the end of it," Sam said.

"Yeah he can get pretty pissy," Jay agreed.

"Oh, a hissy fit of this magnitude? You'd still hear about it ten years later," Sam said.

"We stay," Jay told his girlfriend, "for D."

Kellie rolled her eyes and sat down on the couch with her cup of coffee.

"I wanted to go into town to get a fill," Kellie said.

"You can still go," Sam said, "you'd just have to take the main roads. It'll take longer but it's paved so you won't have to worry about getting stuck,"

"Make it a girls day," Jay said.

"I think I will,"

Kellie set her coffee cup down and went upstairs to find Casey and Emily. She heard them in the master bedroom and she knocked on the door frame.

"Can I come in?" Kellie asked.

"Sure," Casey smiled.

"Okay, I know it's raining, but I need to get my nails done. I was thinking girls day or girls few hours,"

"Is it safe to be on the roads?" Casey asked.

"Sam said that it would take a little longer but if we take the main roads we shouldn't have a problem," Kellie said.

"I think that sounds fun," Emily said.

"I'm in," Casey said.

"Yay," Kellie smiled. "I'm gonna get changed and then we'll go,"

Emily chuckled as she hurried downstairs.

"I like Kellie," Emily said. "I think she's really sweet,"

"I do too," Casey agreed.

A few minutes later, the girls were downstairs getting strict instructions from Sam. He made it very clear that they were to only take the main roads. He knew how long it would take for them to get there so they expected a call from them as soon as they got to the salon and as soon as they left. Derek handed Casey his card and sent her on her way with a kiss and the girls were off. And right when they got there, all three of their phones rang and they all answered at the same time, laughing about it. Sam really _did_ know how long it would take them.

"So, Casey," Kellie said. "Derek told us about why he was sent to Toronto,"

"Oh, he did?"

"Yeah, and personally I think their reaction was kinda... dramatic,"

"To say the least," Emily muttered making Casey look at her. "You know I've supported you guys from day one,"

"I know," Casey said. "It's just different hearing it from someone else. That they understand,"

"You can't help who you have feelings for," Kellie said.

"And pretty soon, this wait, the distance; it'll all be worth it Case," Emily said.

"Oh, like seventy bucks worth?" Casey asked.

"It's not my fault our friends were stupid enough to bet against me when they know I'm always right," Emily said.

"What?" Kellie laughed.

"I invited some friends over for a small pool party and Sam and our other friend Ralph bet me that Derek wouldn't make a move that night," Emily said. "I won,"

"I wish Ralph was here," Casey said. "Derek would have loved to see him,"

"Who is Ralph," Kellie asked.

"He used to play drums for Derek's band, D-Rock," Emily said.

"D-Rock," Kellie repeated. "Only Derek,"

"Only Derek," Casey confirmed.

"But Ralph is very..." Emily paused. She never wanted to call her friend dumb but... sometimes he was.

"Oblivious?" Casey offered.

"Oblivious," Emily agreed. "But he's also very sweet and always full of good intent even if it doesn't turn out well,"

"How has Derek really been lately," Casey asked.

"Well," Kellie said. "He's got good grades because I help tutor him sometimes but other than that, I'd say he's pretty okay. I do know he's absolutely crazy about you,"

"Really?"

"Mmhmm. All the girls at Central just _swoon_ over Derek Venturi," she fanned her face for dramatics and she laughed. "And he's just like 'eh'. But the entire school knows he's taken but the girls are still desperate,"

"I trust him," Casey said.

"He really does love you," Kellie said to her.

A slow smiled spread across Casey's face and Emily and Kellie laughed. She knew he loved her but hearing that he would turn down other girls because of her really let her know that he was serious about her. And that made her heart swell with happiness. She trusted him but knowing that he was staying faithful to her even though he was far away let her know that she didn't have to worry.

They grabbed a coffee before they called the guys to tell them they were on the way back. They pulled back into the drive and Derek was outside waiting for them. They hurried out of the rain.

"Have fun?" Derek asked.

"A blast," Kellie answered.

"Thanks Derek," Emily said before she and Kellie went inside.

"Wait, I paid?" He asked them and then looked back at Casey. "I paid?"

"So," Casey smiled, "all the girls just swoon over you?"

"Case, you don't-"

"I know, thank you," she said.

"For what?"

"Waiting for us," she said. "Staying faithful. I know there must be temptation,"

"The girls at Central have nothing on you," he smirked.

He leaned down and kissed her.

"Did I really pay for all three of you to get your nails done?"

"Yep," she smiled.

"I knew I shouldn't have given you my card," he groaned. "What else did I pay for?"

"Coffee," she said walking inside.

"We have coffee here!"

By the time night had come, it was pouring down rain. Sam had started the fire and Casey made everyone hot chocolate. They were all just talking when they heard a tap on the window. They all froze. Then they heard tapping from another window. Sam stood up from his place on the couch and opened the front door. He stepped out and looked around.

"Hello?" He called out.

He looked the opposite direction and saw nothing. When he turned back the other way he gasped in fright.

"Damn you, Ralph!" Sam shouted. "What are you doing here?"

"My grandparents won a cruise at the casino," he chuckled. "Thought I'd join you guys,"

"Yeah," Sam said, trying to catch his breath.

"You alright?"

"You scared me is all,"

Sam walked back through the door with Ralph.

"Ralph?" Derek asked. "Dude!"

"So you're Ralph?" Kellie asked. "I've heard a lot about you, I'm Kellie,"

"Hey," he flirted. "Nice shoes,"

"She's also got a boyfriend," Jay said, waving.

"My bad,"

After a quick greeting and introduction, they were all settled down in the living room again. When they all decided to go to sleep, Sam helped Ralph get the sofa bed ready for him. After Sam went to bed himself, Ralph settled on the couch. He was about to put his headphones in when he heard a knock on one of the windows. It wasn't like the tapping he had done to try to scare his friends, this was a clear knock. He listened carefully and heard footsteps on the porch. He sat up and watched the door knob try to turn.

He stood up and as quietly as he could, he walked down the hall to Sam's room.

"Psst! Sam!" He whispered when he opened the door.

"Dude?"

"Someone's here,"

Sam got out of bed and looked down the hallway to the front door. His heart sank when he heard the door trying to open. He put his finger over his lips to Ralph and they tip toed to the other room. Risking getting punched in the face, he walked in. Thankfully Jay and his girlfriend weren't doing anything.

"Jay," Sam called out, shaking him lightly. "Come here,"

"I'm gonna go get Derek," Ralph whispered.

"Knock but not too loud," Sam nodded.

Ralph quietly hurried up the stairs and knocked on the closed door.

"Derek," he called out quietly.

"This better be important," Derek snapped as he opened the door in just a pair of shorts.

"Shh, someone is here,"

"What?"

"Someone is trying to open the door," Ralph said.

Derek and Ralph both walked downstairs and saw the handle continue to move.

"How long does it take for an officer to get here," Jay asked.

"About twenty minutes, less time if they're doing their rounds," Sam answered.

Sam walked over to the door and slowly grabbed the handle to tell whoever was out there to knock it off. He let go of the handle a few seconds later because it finally stopped jiggling. They all jumped at the loud bang that suddenly had come from the other side of the door.

"Derek!"

Derek raced back up the stairs and into the room. Casey was sitting against the wall on the floor facing the window.

"Someone was outside the window,"

Derek raced over to the window and opened it. He looked out both directions and saw nothing. He slammed it shut, locked it, and closed the black out curtains on both windows in the room. He didn't even hesitate when he opened the patio door to upstairs balcony either. He saw nothing. He looked over the railing to the ground and was startled. He squinted his eyes. They rain distorted everything but when lightning lit up the sky he saw a black figure standing there, looking back up at him.

The thing that made Derek go back inside and lock the door was the fact that when lighting struck, the figures eyes looked almost iridescent, but also reflective too.

He stepped into his shoes and raced downstairs. He started looking through closets for anything he could use as a weapon and he found a baseball bat.

"Derek?" Sam asked.

"He's right outside,"

Sam raced over to a big picture frame in the living room and pulled down the frame. A safe was built into the wall. He pressed a few buttons and opened the door. He pulled out a gun and loaded it.

"Someone needs to stay here with the girls," Sam said. He grabbed one of the sharp fireplace tools and handed it to Jay.

Sam silently unlocked the door and looked at the two boys next to him.

"I'm gonna pull the trigger once we get out there," Sam said. "Jay go left, Derek, right,"

"Alright, Jay," Derek said.

"Fifteen seconds?"

"Fifteen seconds,"

Sam threw open the door and pulled the trigger twice and Derek and Jay took off around opposite sides of the cabin. They were shouting and during that time, Sam flipped had Ralph flip on the flood lights for a better view and Sam saw nothing. And fifteen seconds later, Derek and Jay returned to the front of house breathing heavily, soaked from the rain.

"I didn't see anything," Derek panted.

"Me either," Jay said. "What did you see?"

"He was standing right there," Derek pointed in the general area. "I couldn't hear anything but the rain,"

Derek rested his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath. Suddenly, there was a loud clank from the fireplace tool falling to the floor. A struggled gasp for air was heard and Derek shot his eyes up and saw Jay. His hands went up to his throat as blood spurted out. Derek and Sam caught him before he fell to the ground and pulled him inside.

"Oh my God," Ralph said.

"What the hell is going on out here?" Kellie asked. "Jay?"

Tears fell from her eyes at the sight of her boyfriend bleeding to death in front of her. She got down beside him and cried. Derek covered the his friends neck with his bare hands.

"Sam, what the fuck do we do?" Derek shouted.

"I don't have a signal," Sam said after he checked his phone.

"Ralph, get Kellie outta here," Derek said. "C'mon Jay, don't you dare die on me,"

With all the yelling and Kellie's sobbing, Casey and Emily were out of their rooms as well and and started freaking out as well. Ralph handed the crying girl off to Casey and Emily and turned to face his other friends.

"Ralph, go into the kitchen and press the panic button on the wall by the phone!" Sam shouted.

Ralph raced to the kitchen and did what Sam said. Derek looked down at his friend and watched as the struggle to breathe stopped.

"No, no, no, no, please," Derek said.

All movement stopped. Derek removed his hands from his friends bloodied neck and fell back on the floor from being on his knees. He rested his arms on his knees and forgetting about it, he grabbed fist fulls of his hair and groaned in sadness. He let out a shuddered breath and looked at his hands. He didn't know what to do.

"We need to find a place for him," Derek said.

"Derek,"

He turned and saw Kellie standing there and she raced over to Jay's body on the floor. Derek grabbed her before she got any closer and he hugged her as she cried over her loss. After she stopped crying, he walked her to the bedroom and let her be alone. Ralph had found some large garbage bags to cover up Jay's body. It was the best he could do.

Sam was starting to worry. It had been almost thirty minutes since the panic button has been pressed and nothing happened.

Derek had walked into the hall bathroom and looked at his hands. He then looked at his reflection and he had blood on his face from when he grabbed his hair. With shaking hands he turned on the water and plugged up the drain. He started rinsing his hands and splashing water on his face. After, he turned off the water and pulled the plug to drain the red stained water. He grabbed a towel. He dried off his hands and suddenly fell to the ground. He pressed the towel against his face and screamed into it.

He felt hands on his shoulders and when he uncovered his face, he saw Casey with tears in her eyes. She was facing him in between his legs and he grabbed onto her for dear life, and he cried.

Meanwhile, Ralph knocked on Kellie's door. She didn't answer and he walked in. She was sitting in the bed just dazed.

"Uh, Kellie?"

"Yeah,"

"I brought you some water in case you needed it,"

"Thank you,"

Ralph just nodded and walked out of the room, leaving the door open.

"Where are the cops?" Ralph asked.

"They're not coming," Sam said. "Someone cut the phone line,"

There was an uncomfortable silence before they heard glass break and Ralph went falling to the floor. An arrow went right through his left shoulder. He groaned in pain and then immediately started freaking out when he saw one side of the arrow sticking through his body.

"What the fuck?!" He panicked.

Sam hurried to him and examined his wound.

"Derek, in the kitchen drawer by the fridge is a bolt cutter, get it," Sam said. "Ralph I need you to breathe okay? Casey, there's some vicodin in the medicine cabinet in the hall bathroom,"

Casey nodded and ran to grab it. Derek handed Sam the large bolt cutters and Sam positioned the sharp opening on the rod of the arrow.

"Ready?" He asked Ralph. "Don't hold your breath, I need to you breathe,"

"Go," Ralph nodded.

Sam closed the cutters and successfully cut the rod down and Ralph groaned at the pressure of the movement inside his body.

"Do we pull it out?" Derek asked.

"No, it's keeping him from bleeding out," Sam said.

"Bleeding out?! I'm gonna fucking die here! I should have never come!" Ralph panicked.

"Turn him over I need to get the other side," Sam said, ignoring his friends freak out, even thought Ralph had every right to freak out.

Derek helped Ralph turn on his side while Sam cut the other end off leaving plenty for it to be removed properly. Casey had returned with a pill in her hand and a glass of water. She fed him the pill herself and helped him drink the water by holding the glass.

"Okay," Sam said, "I think we should go upstairs,"

"I think I can't move," Ralph groaned out on the floor.

Derek and Sam helped Ralph up off the floor and followed the girls as they ran upstairs. After they got into the master bedroom, Casey slipped on a pair of shoes as if she was ready to run. Sam peaked out of the room and went into a closet and grabbed a shot gun and the bullets. He loaded two and handed it to Ralph who was sitting against the wall facing the door.

He locked the bedroom door and walked over to the closet. He pulled out a crowbar and reached up on the inside of the wall and pulled out another gun. He was glad it was still there because he had left the other one downstairs. He checked the chamber and saw it was loaded.

"Anything else Officer Richards has hidden?" Derek half joked.

All Sam did was smirk.

And they waited. After about fifteen minutes of silence, Emily finally said something.

"I can't take this anymore, I'm gonna go for help,"

"Emily-"

"Sam, we can't just stay here until morning," she told him. "We need to do something,"

"The closest house is a ten minute walk," Sam said.

"Yeah and I'm on Varsity track," she said. "I can do it,"

Sam reluctantly agreed.

"On the other side of the house is a lattice. Its covered with vines and stuff but you can climb down it," Sam said. "If no one is home, just break in and try to call for help,"

"Okay," she nodded.

"Be careful," he said.

Emily walked over to the patio door and took a deep breath. She opened the door and she was gone.

She followed Sam's directions and was able to climb down from the roof. She ran as fast as her feet would move through the rain and the mud. As fate would have it, she tripped. She yelped in surprise and landed with a wet thud. She got up and continued running occasionally looking back. She never saw anyone when she got to the ground and she hadn't seen anyone for that matter. When the turned to see where she was going, she ran into a broad chest. She bounced back and landed on the ground again.

He was tall, dressed all in black with a mask on. It almost looked like it was made out of hemp or a material close to that. The only visible feature was his eyes which seemed to glow whenever the lightning struck in the sky. He tilted his head curiously at her on the ground as she tried to scoot away and get back to her feet but to no avail. His glove covered hands grabbed her ankle and pulled her to him and she screamed. She tried to kick out of his grasp but his hold was too tight and he was too strong for her. But while she saw him try to reach for something, she used that as her chance to get away. She kicked her legs as hard as she could and got free. She gather up as much strength and courage as she could and turned herself over to get up off the muddy terrain. She started running again and suddenly stopped when she felt pain in her chest. She stopped and looked down to see blood saturating her shirt.

She fell to the ground and was still conscience enough to realize what had happened. She cried out in pain when she felt something being pulled from her back. She was turned over and saw the masked man holding a bloody knife before he plunged it into her chest with a grunt.

He kept with that action for a few more seconds even though she was already dead. He wiped the blood off with his gloved hand and then grabbed her by her soaked hair. He dragged her back to the house but stopped near the front porch. He looked around slowly in such an eerie way. It was almost like he was contemplating what to do with her. His vehicle was parked only a few yards away and he had plenty of supplies for his twisted pleasure. After he made his way to his van, he retrieved a rope and walked back over to Emily's dead body. He looked at her lifeless form drenched in rain, mud and blood and leaned over her. He placed his fingertips over her eyelids and closed them.

He pulled her by her hair again to the closest tree and tied her body to it so her friends would see her because he knew that the thunder was too loud and the rain was pouring too hard to hear her scream.

Back inside, they waited. Casey was pacing the room. She was nervous and scared. She finally decided to check a window in hoped the lighting would strike long enough for her to see but that didn't happen.

"Where is she?" Casey asked.

"Maybe she got some help," Kellie said. "What do we do now? I mean we can't stay in here for the rest of the night,"

"We just might have to," Sam said. He pulled his phone out and checked it again. "Whoever is out there must have planned this and they've gotta be using one of those cell blocker things,"

Suddenly, they saw headlights shine. Sam and Derek rushed to the patio door and saw a police officer get out. Sam threw open the door and Derek followed. They were waving their arms trying to get the officers attention which soon turned into a warning when they saw the figure step out from the shadows.

"Is everything alright?" The officer shouted.

They could barely see him due to the rain but they tried their best to warn him of the man standing behind him. Suddenly they saw the man extend his arm and slam a knife into his neck and fall to the ground. Lightning lit up and they finally saw Emily's body tied to a tree. Pure terror washed over Derek and Sam as they ran back inside.

"What?" Casey asked. "What happened?"

"He killed an officer," Derek said. "And Emily,"

"What?" Casey asked.

She tried to go over to the door to see but Derek stopped her. He grabbed a hold of her shoulders and just held her as she cried.

"Listen to me," he said in her ear, "I need you to keep it together," she nodded, "she knew what could happen and she tried her best,"

"It's okay," Sam nodded, "it's gonna be okay because dispatch is gonna send another officer when he doesn't reply with a status,"

"What if they don't?" Ralph asked quietly. "We have a good six hours before sunrise,"

"We can't risk anyone else," Sam said.

"Face it Sam," Ralph snapped. "He's choosing to stay outside. He could have come in here and killed all of us if he wanted too. He's waiting us out to see which one of us is stupid enough to go try and get help. I was just an unlucky shot,"

They knew he was right for once. They had to figure out something. Who knew if this psychopath wouldn't have a problem with killing someone in broad daylight. And they knew at any moment, he could come in and kill all of them.

"I don't know about you guys, but this March Break sucks," Ralph said.

They were all silent before Kellie started to giggle a little bit.

"You're right," she agreed. "This sucks,"

She looked down at the red stains on her shirt and nodded.

"Totally sucks,"

"Do you want something to change into?" Casey asked.

"Yeah," she said sadly, "I think I do,"

Casey pulled out a shirt and tossed it to her. Kellie changed and crawled into the bed. She was exhausted. Casey climbed in next to her and held her when she started crying. Casey too was crying over the loss of her best friend and her new friend as well. A little while after, they were both asleep in the bed and Ralph was still on the floor in and out of consciousnesses due to the pain he was in.

Sam and Derek were sitting on the other side of the room next to each other.

"Sam," Derek whispered. "What if we both try to get help,"

"No,"

"Listen, he's out there,"

"Exactly," Sam whispered back. "Emily tried to get help or did you forget that your friend is downstairs, dead,"

"Emily was alone, and we didn't know he was even out there until it was too late," Derek said. "If we both go,"

"One of us could die if not both,"

"Or one of us can get help," Derek said. "He can't chase both of us, he's only one person."

"You'd be risking your life," Sam said, "and what about Casey?"

"If I knew that one of us could get help, I'd risk everything to try to save her,"

XX

They waited until Casey and Kellie were awake. And even though Casey threw a fit when she found out that Derek was going to do this with Sam, she knew that eventually they'd have to try to do something.

"Ready?" Derek asked.

"Nope,"

Sam threw the door open and they both took off in opposite directions. After five minutes of running, Sam finally saw the next house. He kept running and finally got to the porch. He started banging on the door and windows frantically. The house was dark but he saw a van parked in front so he knew someone was there.

"Hello?" He yelled through the window. "Is anyone home?"

He continued to pound on the door.

"Shit,"

He turned to leave to try to get to another house but was met with pain on his head. The last thing he saw before everything fade to black was a dark figure hovering over him with eyes glowing.

Meanwhile, the house that Derek was trying to get to was further away than the one Sam headed for. He kept slipping in the mud on the way there too. He was almost there when suddenly he felt the most excruciating pain he had ever felt before. He fell to the ground in agony. He looked towards the pain and saw a bear trap around his calf. He screamed in pain, begging for someone to help him. He tried to crawl towards the house and every movement made the teeth of the trap stretch his flesh in the most painful way. He suddenly remembered how to open the trap around his leg. He looked around and saw a tree next to the house and he had an idea.

He crawled over to it in pain and positioned himself between the wall of the house and the large tree. He groaned in pain when he lifted the weight of the trap and his leg up to the side of the house. With his other foot on one spring and his hands on the other, he used all the strength he had to push. He grunted out in pain and cried when he felt the teeth of the trap leave his skin. He kept pushing as hard as he could until he heard a click. Slowly he moved his foot out of the trap and tumbled away from the tree letting the trap snap shut again.

He groaned in pain again. Suddenly he was picked up and turned over. Derek only got one good hit in before he was punched clean in the jaw and he was out like a light.

XX

Sam was the first one to come too. He woke with a start and a pounding in his head. He looked around and he was in his living room and he was surprised he wasn't tied up and gagged. He struggled to stand up and tried to make his way up the stairs to the girls. He needed to know that they were still okay along with Ralph. He looked around one more time before he tried walking up the stairs. He was too dizzy so he decided against it. He sat down on the floor and ended up passing out again.

Upstairs locked in the room, Kellie looked out the patio door.

"We need to get to that cop car," she said.

"They said to stay here,"

"There's a radio in there," Kellie said. "Look, I can climb down like Emily and once I get to the car, I'll lock myself in,"

Before Casey could say anything more, Kellie was out the door and already climbing down. She hurried to the car, slammed the door and locked it. She felt the ignition and the keys were gone but the radio was still on. She grabbed the walkie and pressed the button.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" She waited. "Please, can anyone hear me?"

She was started at the sound of another voice coming through.

"Hello?"

"Oh, thank God! Please, my name is Kellie Burton, I need your help, someone is attacking me and my friends!" She cried.

"Miss, I need you to stay calm, what's going on?" The voice asked.

"Someone killed two of my friends, one is injured and two more tried to get help but haven't been back yet,"

"Alright, I need to know where you are so I can send some help okay? Do you know where you are?"

"I'm at a friends lake house,"

"Do you know the address?"

"No," she cried. "It belongs to my friend, Sam, and all I know is that his dad is a police officer,"

She sat there for a moment.

"Richards," Kellie said, "Sam Richards,"

"Okay, I have someone on the way now. It might take a while because of the weather okay? We just notified Officer Richards as well. Hang tight,"

Kellie sighed in relief. She looked through the windshield to see Casey waiting in the rain on the porch. There was a loud bang and Kellie watched as Casey was grabbed and pulled back into the house. Kellie hit the call button again.

"He just took my friend, please hurry! He's gonna kill her!"

Kellie raced out of the car and back into the house. She grabbed the fireplace poker that was left on the porch from before and hurried inside. She saw Sam on the floor and assumed he was dead and she raced up the stairs. When she got to the room, she saw that Ralph was soaked in his own blood from a shotgun wound to his stomach. She saw Casey struggle against a vary large mans hold and she was screaming. He turned her around and slapped her. Kellie stood there and watched as he pulled out a knife. She took her shot and swung.

The curved part of the poker made contact with his head and the sound that came out of him sound like someone had just thrown a lobster into scalding hot water. Kellie pulled the tool back and they both ran as he wriggled on the floor like a worm. They raced downstairs and hid. They heard his heavy steps on the stairs and Kellie jumped on his back with the poker rod against his neck, trying to choke him. He was much too strong for her because he threw her across the room into a wall like a rag doll. She groaned when she landed on the floor.

He looked at Casey and tilted his head. He had his knife out and waved it at her and as he lunged forward, Derek came out of nowhere and used his body as a shield and took the blade in his lower right side of his back.

His breath hitched and he looked down. Blood spread to the front of his shirt and then he looked back up at Casey.

"Derek?" She asked quietly.

All he did was fall to the ground. He wasn't even sure how he had managed to get to her because if his leg.

She tried to make a run for the door and he grabbed a hold her arm and slammed her against a wall. He picked her up from the floor and she began hitting him with her fists as hard as she could. He back handed her and she cried out in pain only to scream when he slammed her body into the glass coffee table.

She cried. She didn't feel like she could move and that thought alone made her want to give up then and there. This psychopath was going to finish them off just like Ralph said. He watched her try to turn over and when he picked her up, with his hand around her throat, he slammed her against the wall. While that was happening, he missed the part where Derek slowly, and painfully removed the knife in his lower back and silently placed it on the ground. He didn't see Sam wake up and army crawl into the kitchen to grab the hatchet out of its display hook on the wall. He didn't hear the hatchet being slid across the floor. He didn't even notice that Derek was able to get off the floor because he was too busy with his hand on Casey's throat, holding her against the wall eye level with him.

She was holding on to his arm, trying with everything she had to pull it away. She struggled to breathe and everything around her was getting blurry.

Derek was standing behind him, pure adrenaline running through him, and he slammed the sharp hatchet down on the back of his head. That high pitched whining sound filled the room and he let Casey drop to the ground. She let out a loud gasp and started coughing. Derek looked around and spotted the baseball bat from the beginning of the night and limped over to grab it. He removed the hatchet and dropped it on the ground. He turned to look at Derek and Derek took a swing. There was metallic sound as the bat crashed against this guys head. Swing after swing, that uncomfortable whine, Derek kept swinging until he was on the ground convulsing. He took a downward swing on his head and then all movement stopped.

Derek was breathing hard and stumbling due to the lack of balance he had. He looked down at the man laying on the floor and Sam staggered over to him with the gun that was left behind in his hand. Sam pulled the trigger three times and close range making blood splatter on the him and Derek. Just for extra measure, Derek took one last shot with the baseball bat and connected with a wet thud. He dropped the bat when Casey threw her arms around his neck. He stumbled back a little before he wrapped his arms around her too.

"Are you okay?" Casey asked him.

"I need to sit down," he said softly.

"Sam?"

Before he could answer, they heard a groan from the other side of the room. He walked over and saw Kellie was struggling to stand up.

"Oh, God, Kellie,"

Sam helped her up and wrapped an arm around her for support.

"Are you okay?" He asked her.

"Yeah," she said.

They both walked over to Derek and Casey and Kellie grabbed Casey's hand. All four looked down at the man. His head was in the middle of a pool of blood.

"Is he really dead?" Kellie asked.

Casey looked around and spotted the hatchet. Derek leaned on to Sam as Casey removed herself from him. She grabbed the hatchet off the ground and walked back over to her friends. She sat on her knees and slammed the blade into his neck. She sighed and stood up.

"Lets go," Casey rasped out.

Derek wrapped his other arm around Casey so she and Sam could help him out. His leg was covered in his blood and he could barely walk. Kellie opened the door and shut it behind them and they all sat on the stairs and saw the rain had died down to a light drizzle. A few minutes later, three police cars and an ambulance showed up. An officer slowly walked up to them and was shocked at them. Casey had a busted lip and a black eye forming from the amount of time she had been hit, cuts from the class coffee table and he also noticed a bruise forming around her neck. Sam has a large purple welt that was bleeding on the side of his head. Kellie had gash on her head and scratches in random places from when she was thrown against the wall. Apparently she had hit picture frames and landed in the glass. But Derek was the worst of them. He had a welt forming around his eye, the stab wound in his back and the worst one? The wounds of the teeth from the bear trap.

Derek was the first one to get taken to the hospital and Casey refused to leave his side. Sam and Kellie were taken by a police officer while everyone else did their investigating and clean up.

XX

At the hospital, Derek had to go through surgery for his stab wound. Everything was a success even though he had lost a lot of blood. Kellie had multiple fractured ribs and a cracked shoulder. Sam actually ended up having a fracture in his skull but he would be fine. After Derek's surgery, she made her way to see him. She told him everything that he had forgot and had to tell him that Ralph had been murdered as well. She told him that Kellie took care of informing Jay's parents of everything and it was the hardest thing she had ever done. Sam's dad took care of informing Emily's parents and Ralph's parents of the events that unfolded. He even took it upon himself to tell Nora, George and Abby. She told Derek that they were on their way.

An hour and a half had passed. Casey was in her hospital room in a gown. She had an MRI done on her entire body to make sure there wasn't any internal damage and found out that she only had a few broken ribs. The doctor had informed her that if she had been choked any longer, her throat would have been severely crushed. She needed stitches for only one of the cuts and that was it.

There was a light knock on the door and she looked over to see her mother. Casey started crying and her mother rushed over to her and held her.

"I'm so glad you're alright," Nora sighed.

"I'm sorry," Casey said.

"Oh, honey," she looked down at her daughter, "what for?"

"For not telling you that Derek was gonna be there,"

"I'm just glad you're okay,"

"I wouldn't be if it weren't for Derek," Casey admitted.

"What are you talking about?"

"Derek stepped in the way," Casey said softly. "That guy, he was coming at me with a knife and Derek got in the way,"

Casey gently wiped her tears and sighed.

"If Derek didn't step in..."

And Casey spent the next hour reliving that nightmare so her mother could know what she had experienced. She wanted her mother to know just how amazing Derek actually was because she knew that he didn't have to come back into that house. He could have been able to get away to get help for himself. She knew that he could have chosen to be selfish and he didn't. He chose to go back and try to help her. Sure, the stab wound on Derek wasn't that bad, but he blocked the knife from going right into Casey's stomach and who knew what would have happened to her after. But mostly, she wanted to let her mom know that the reason why she was there in front of her, talking, was because of Derek.

Meanwhile George had spoken to a doctor about his son and was told that he was allowed to see him.

He wandered down the hall and found his sons room. He peaked in and Derek slowly looked over.

"Dad,"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure," Derek said. "I'm a little loopy though,"

George pulled up a seat next to his bed and tried his best to keep it together.

"How you feeling?"

"Like I've been thrown around in the back of a semi," he smirked.

"Why did you go back into the lake house? You could have-"

"I had to," he said softly. "I had to protect her,"

"Protect who?"

"Casey,"

And then Derek faded out. George knew his son was on a lot of pain medication. He sighed and stood up. He just had to wait for Derek to wake up again to finish talking. He excised himself from the room and was met with Nora in the hall.

"How is he?" She asked.

"He's out now," George said. "He said something interesting about Casey though,"

"We need to talk about that,"

XX

Later that night, Casey woke up in the middle of the night in her hospital bed. She got out of bed and silently wandered to Derek's room. His leg was wrapped up and in a sling and the welt that was there before had officially turned into a black eye. A few more bruises had formed on his body but other than that, he was still Derek. She walked into the room and silently closed the door behind her. When she turned around, he was awake and he smirked.

"Can't sleep either?" He asked her.

"I needed to see you,"

"Come here,"

She walked over to him and he pulled the blanket back.

"What about your stitches?" She asked him.

"I'd rather have you on that side than my left, my leg hurts more,"

She nodded and climbed in next to him on the right side. Before she could lay next to him, he gently looked at her neck. She winced when she felt his hand slowly move to her collar bone.

"You gonna be okay?" He asked her and she laughed.

"I'm gonna be just fine,"

She scooted closer and rested her head on his shoulder. Her arm slid across his waist and he held her.

"Did we find out who it was?" Derek asked.

"Some escaped mental patient," she said.

"We were just the unlucky ones then," he snorted.

"I think we're pretty lucky," she said.

"Why's that?"

"I still have you," she said. "Thank you,"

"For what?"

"Protecting me,"

"It's my job," he said before he placed a kiss on her forehead.

XX

A week later, Derek was released from the hospital. Abby had come to pick him up and his dad and Nora were to meet her at the apartment. Casey refused to leave his side that entire week and was dreading have to go back home to London without him.

"Dad?" Derek questioned when he saw him. "What are you doing here?"

George looked at Abby, Nora and then back at Derek.

"I think we all need to sit down and have a talk about something,"

All five of them went inside and sat down in the living room. Derek was last to sit down with the help of Casey.

"Thank you," he smiled at her.

"Do you want something to drink?" Casey asked him.

"Casey, honey, there's water bottles in the fridge," Abby said.

Casey nodded and grabbed some. She handed Derek one and sat on the arm of the couch next to him.

"What are your plans after graduation?" George asked his son. "Did you want to stay here or come back home,"

"I didn't know that coming home was an option,"

"Well, I've done a lot of thinking this week," George sighed, "and I really did think that this-"

"Was a phase?" Derek finished for him.

"I didn't realize that your feelings were true and I want to apologize for thinking so," his dad said. "And when I found out what you did for Casey, I realized how wrong I was,"

"Dad,"

"We should have never kept you apart," Nora said for George.

"So if you would like to come home for the summer, your room will be moved to the basement," George said.

Derek smirked.

"Well, we should be going," George said, "Casey, are you ready?"

"Actually," Abby chimed in, "Nora and I think that it would be good for the both of them if Casey stayed for a week,"

"What?" Casey asked.

"Yeah, what?" Derek repeated.

"It would be good for you guys, heal together," Abby said.

XX

It was getting close to the end of summer. Derek did actually decide to go home before he started university with Casey in the fall. Their parents had loosened the chains a little bit on them and they had a little bit more freedom. Derek decided to invite Kellie to spend the weekend at their house and just have a little fun before they all took off.

Derek had just lit the BBQ when he heard someone behind him.

"Careful not to burn off your face,"

He turned around and smiled. He picked her up in a tight hug.

"You don't call me anymore, brat," he said to her.

"I've been a little busy,"

"Busy with what?" He asked her. "Don't tell me you have a new best friend,"

"No," she laughed, "but I have been talking to someone,"

"You have?"

"Derek," she said like she knew where it was going.

"No, I'm not judging," he said. "You sure you're ready?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "as much as I loved Jay, I can't keep holding on to him. I have to move on and be happy and I know he would want me too,"

"Well," Derek sighed. "As long as your heart is okay and ready,"

"I'm kinda glad I brought this up because I need to talk to you more about it,"

"Do I know him or something?" Derek chuckled.

"Yeah," she said and she raised her brows.

"Sam?" Derek asked and she looked away slightly.

"Is it completely crazy?"

"Yes," he nodded, "but my situation was anything less than completely crazy,"

Kellie smirked.

"If you are both ready, go for it,"

She gave him one more hug and turned when she heard the door open. Derek laughed when he heard the excitement from her and Casey as they ran to each other for a hug. Sam shook his head at the sight of them and walked over to Derek with a plate full of hamburger patties.

"Did you season them?" Derek asked.

"Yeah,"

"Did you want cheese and when were you gonna tell me about you and Kellie?"

"She told?"

"Look," Derek chuckled, "just take it slow with her,"

Later that night, Casey walked over to Derek with confusion etched in her face.

"What is going on with-"

"Leave it alone," he said.

She sighed and sat down next to him.

"Are you excited for Queens?" She asked him.

"I am," he said. "And I'm also excited to know that I'll be waking up next to you everyday,"

"You're lucky my dad is okay with getting us a place," she said.

She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you, too,"

"You know," he said, "sometimes I wish I could have done more,"

"Derek,"

"No, I'm not feeling guilty anymore. I know now that we all tried our best,"

"I miss them too," Casey said.

He leaned down and kissed her softly.

"Hey," Sam said. "Will you please tell Kellie that Emily really had a notebook with info about everyone?"

"Oh, goodness," Casey said. "She did and it was crazy scary how much she had on people,"

"Wow," Kellie said, "why didn't I think of that?"

"I'm glad you didn't," Derek said.

"I wish I got to know Emily," Kellie said, "Ralph too,"

"You can get to know her through us," Derek said.

"And me and Sam can get to know Jay through you," Casey said.

"Jay was afraid of mice,"

Casey's eyes grew and her jaw dropped.

"Derek is too!" She said and Kellie and Sam laughed.

"Cas-ey!" He groaned. "Whatever you got scared over a dust bunny,"

"That was you," she said.

"Oh yeah," Derek said, "Casey... there was one time... dammit, you're perfect,"

"Aw," Kellie gushed.

"You're not getting laid tonight," Casey said and he glared at her.

And the rest of the night, Derek and Sam shared stories about Ralph, Casey told stories about Emily and Kellie told them stories about Jay.

It was sad but it also felt really good to remember their friends. Now they just had to get through the rest of their lives without them.


	7. Virus

**So apparently when I uploaded this chapter it ended up being a bunch of code. Ironically this chapter is called 'Virus' so the glitch was perfect, ha! Anyways, I'm not too fond of this chapter but I'm trying to get out of this block I've been having. Let me know what you think...**

 **VIRUS**

 **Time and Location: Grade 12; Sheldon's new home and school in Newfoundland**

" _My name is Sheldon Schlepper - 'Locust' if you've been trying to find a way to beat this - and this is a warning. Even though everyone already knows what's happening right now._

 _After I moved from London to Newfoundland, I basically had to start over. I had to make friends all over again. And man, it was hard. It made me realize that no one at Thompson High really liked me, they just… put up with me. It also made me wonder if Emily, my little squirrel, love of my life and now, ex girlfriend, really cared for me._

 _But this isn't about that. I couldn't care less anymore because something much bigger is happening right now. Something that I caused. And if you're watching this, I may not be here anymore. Hell… no one may not be here. But I'm working on something that may work, that might get rid of this - this - virus. I'm really glad I went to computer camp._

 _This happened a few months ago. I was walking home from school that day and I found what looked like a busted hard drive. I figured I could use it for parts and what not. So I stuffed it in my bag and brought it home with me. I didn't actually get to it until the next day. I remember taking it out of my bag and setting it on my desk. I figured I'd get my old laptop to see if it worked because I didn't want any crap on my new one. When I plugged it in, I heard it whirl up and at the bottom of the screen was a notification bubble._

 _It worked, it actually worked. Drive C. I clicked on it and a window opened. There was nothing there. I mean there was but, all the folders were empty._

 _Suddenly, the screen went static like an old TV and a scream had come from the broken speakers of my old laptop before I slammed it shut. My heart was pounding. I wasn't too sure what just happened but I was scared. I still am. I'm not too sure what happened during the night but the next morning… It was weird._

 _I was in the library during lunch as I always was because, well… I didn't really have any friends. I mean the other kids in the science club weren't really friends. I actually considered them to be more of colleagues. I was working on my english assignment when my email opened all on it's own. I figured it could be a sensory glitch since my laptop was a touch screen and my screen could have been dirty. But then I realized that the touch screen was off."_

He smiled. But it wasn't the friendly smile. It was like a sadistic smile. He even laughed.

" _A blank email opened up and a file began to upload. I tried to cancel the upload but it was like someone else had taken over my computer. Hell, I even tried to turn it off but to no avail. I watched helplessly as everyone in my contacts were selected and then… 'send'."_

He sat there in thought. Like he was still confused about what had happened.

" _I had no idea what my computer had sent at the time but I was going to find out. At the time I thought that it didn't matter. I decided to go home for the rest of the day. I booted up my old laptop when I got home and logged into my email. I went to the 'sent' folder and… nothing was there. I know something was sent because my inbox was full of questioning emails and I even got text messages from people asking me what the email was about. Not being able to see what was sent, I couldn't tell them._

 _I couldn't answer any questions._

 _And over the next few weeks, I just ignored it all. I ignored all the people staring at me, I let people beat my ass; I basically let everyone do whatever they wanted to me. There was nothing I could really do. No one wanted to show me what was sent either. But one day, I received a text message from a blocked number. I opened it and it was a picture of a girl in my math class - or at least it kinda looked like her._

 _In the photo, it was daylight and she was wearing a purple shirt. But not the day the picture was sent. Her face was pale and she had dark rings under her eyes like she hadn't slept in weeks. And it looked like some kind of black sludge was dripping from her mouth. I closed the message and the next day at school, that same girl was walking across the lawn… in a purple shirt. I kept watching her and she suddenly stopped. I waited."_

The look of fear flashed in his eyes as he looked at the camera. He looked worried, scared, sad, and angry. Helpless even.

" _The girl… she started gagging. Everyone around her began to notice and tried to help. I just stood back and watched. Then this… this disgusting black stuff dripped from her mouth and she fell to the ground. She convulsed and someone called emergency. While everyone watched this girl pretty much die in the middle of the lawn at school, they were also looking at me too. Like it was my fault."_

He sat there for a full minute before speaking again.

" _I left school again. I had to figure out what the hell was going on._

 _When I got home, I noticed that my dad's laptop was open and so was his email. I saw the email that my computer had sent to him and I quickly sent it back to myself. I raced to my room and checked my email. I clicked on it and opened the attachment. I watched as a video opened and there was actually nothing but static. I continued to watch and then I saw myself on the screen._

 _The post-it note on my webcam was taped down so I have no idea how - anyways… suddenly behind me, was a shadow. At least that's what it was in the video. I turned to look and no one was there. I turned back to the screen and the shadow was closer to me. And honestly, yeah, I freaked out so much that I hit the killswitch on my laptop for the webcam and it turned off. But the image was still there._

 _I'm not really sure how to describe it either. I know it was some sort of shadow figure reaching for me. But the image of myself… it was weird. The image of myself was just sitting there. No expression at all. As I'm recording this, I can feel it getting closer."_

He looked around and saw nothing. He sighed and shook his head.

" _There were a few more deaths that I know of. And that's only because I witnessed it. I have an entire text thread with pictures of people I don't even know. I have pictures of people from back home in London too. Obviously I couldn't do anything about it though. I don't have a lot of pictures so it makes me wonder… I don't know who's still alive and if they are, where are they hiding? They're not gonna take me in."_

He shook his head, sadly. He reached off camera for something and brought it back into frame. It was a gun. He spun it on his finger a few times and chuckled.

" _I know this would make me a coward, but I keep seeing things. Ever since that first shadow thing, I've been seeing nothing_ but _shadow things. I can't take it anymore. I've been in hiding in my own house. I've covered all the windows and doors with duct tape and sheets to keep them out but I'm not sure it's working. I think it's been two months since I've seen or heard from my parents which is why I wonder if they're alive since I didn't receive a picture of them."_

As he said this, he loaded bullets into the chamber.

" _I heard that if you go somewhere where there's no service, like in the middle of nowhere, you'll be fine. I don't really have the resources to go anywhere. I've also heard that if you hide where there is no light, you'll be fine too. And even though my neighborhood is completely dark at night, you can see shadows in the day. I know that if I stay here, I'll die, and if I leave, I'll die."_

He smiled sadly. He grabbed something small and held it in front of the screen.

" _In this USB drive, there's a code. If anyone one comes to raid my house, it'll be here. Make sure as soon as you're done watching this, put it in the hard drive attached to this computer and when prompted to, extract the file. If all goes well, you should get an email like before and if you open it, it'll release an antivirus and it should be gone. If you don't have service an email alert will pop up on the computer. Worst case scenario, you'll need to get somewhere where there is internet and I'm not too sure if you'll be able to find a place."_

He shook his head, sadly, knowing all too well that the chances of this virus being removed would be very slim, depending on how long it'll take for someone to find him or the recording.

" _I would do it myself but I don't deserve to be alive when the virus is removed. This is my fault, everyone is dead because of me."_

He moved closer to the camera and froze. His eyes were looking off to the left of the screen. A shadowy figure slipped under his closed bedroom door. He turned to look behind him and then back at the screen. Suddenly, his eyes began to drip like he was crying. But tears weren't coming out, it was a thick black liquid. He wiped some of it away and looked at it on his fingers. Suddenly, with what looked like he was completely taken over by something else, he picked up the gun and put it in his mouth.

Before the trigger was pulled, the screen was full of static and then the recording ended.

Someone picked up the USB, looked back at the body covered with a sheet on the floor and then back at the USB in hand. Before they could even pop the USB in the hard drive, someone else had stopped at the open door.

"The sun is almost up," she said. "We're running out of time,"

They sighed and pushed the USB in the slot. The hard drive lit up and the laptop and they clicked on 'extract'. A few minutes later, an email came through on the computer. They opened it and left it alone.

"Did it work?" She asked.

"There's only one way to find out," he said.

"How long do you think he's been dead?" She asked.

"Not sure," he said. "I wish we got here sooner,"

"Derek, we tried," she said. "Emily called, she found a place where we can stay for a little while,"

He nodded.

"We tell her that no one was here,"

"Derek, we have to tell her what happened to Sheldon,"

"Casey, there's no reason to tell her," he said, "they broke up and she moved on,"

"Derek-"

"He wasn't here," he snapped. "The last thing I need is for Emily to have a breakdown right now,"

She didn't argue. The last time they argued they were set back on their journey for three days. He closed up Sheldon's laptop and put everything in a bag. Derek wasn't sure if he was supposed to take it but if the virus was originally set free from it, he wasn't about to leave it for someone else to let loose.

"I'll meet you out front," he said.

Casey nodded and left. He looked around Sheldon's room once more and spotted the group picture from Grade 11 prom.

"We didn't just put up with you," he said, "you were our friend, and we forgive you,"

He walked out and down the stairs. Casey was waiting outside, looking around, scared. He walked out and grabbed her hand. They walked in silence for about an hour before Emily pulled up. She went around and tried to syphon gas the night before.

"Did you figure anything out?" She asked him. "Did you find Locust?"

"No," Derek answered. "But I think everything is gonna be okay,"

He pulled the antenna out and put it back on the car.

"What the hell are you doing?" Emily asked. "You know we can't have a signal,"

"Trust me," he said.

Emily nervously started the car and there was nothing but static and everyone tensed up. After a few seconds, a radio station came in and they all relaxed.

"Where to?" He asked.

"Airport, a bunch of people turned it into a bunker," Emily said. "Who knows, maybe there's a pilot who can fly us pack home,"

Emily put the car in drive and drove off into the daylight.

Derek didn't really know what happened. And according to the video he had seen, Sheldon didn't know what happened either. He prayed that the original email was destroyed by the antivirus he had created. And by the sound of a clear radio station coming through, it seemed like it worked.

He just hoped that Sheldon knew that what he had created, saved what was left of humanity. And even though the survivors had to start over, Sheldon was the hero.


End file.
